I 


tihxavy  of  tire  theological  ^tminavy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Mr.  Samuel  Agnew 

BV  3269^TC3  C25 
Carey,  Eustace,  1791-1855. 
^Bm    Memoir  of  William  Carey,  D, 

fli   D. 


Ji 


x'^ 


Could.  J^ndail  JhZuu-olri . 


MEMOIR 


WILLIAM  CAREY,   D.D 

LATE    MISSIONARY    TO    BENGAL;    PROFESSOR   OF    ORIENTAL   LANGUAGES  IN  THE 
COLLEGE    OF    FORT    WILLIAM,    CALCUTTA. 


By  EUSTACE   CAREY. 


WITH    AN 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY, 


FRANCIS  WAYLAND,  D.  D. 

PRES.    OF    BROWN    UNIVERSITY. 


BOSTON : 

GOULD,     KENDALL     AND     LINCOLN. 

1836. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1836,  by 

Gould,  Kendall  and  Lincoln, 

In  the  District  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


FOWER    PRESS    OF    WILLIAM    S.  DAMRELL, 

39  Washington  Street.... Boston 


.REC.JUN188I 
THEOLGGICiL 


PREFACE. 


The  ensuing  Memoir  was  composed  at  the  request  of 
the  Committee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society.  The 
subject  of  it  was  their  first  and  principal  agent,  by  whose 
instrumentality  they  sought  to  confer  the  blessings  of  the 
gospel  upon  the  heathen  world.  To  perpetuate  some 
memorial  of  his  character  and  labors,  appeared  a  just 
tribute  of  their  esteem  for  him ;  whilst  it  offered  a  suita- 
ble occasion  for  renewing  the  recollection  of  those  events 
and  incidents  which  marked  the  origin  and  early  progress 
of  the  institution  whose  affairs  they  administer.  The  of- 
fice of  biographer  was  devolved  upon  me,  it  is  presumed, 
from  my  relationship  to  Dr.  Carey,  and  from  my  suppos- 
ed intimate  conversancy  with  the  history  of  their  Eastern 
Mission. 

I  have  endeavored,  throughout  the  work,  to  exhibit  the 
Christian  and  the  missionary,  rather  than  the  philosopher 
and  the  scholar.  The  materials  to  which  I  had  access 
were  more  applicable  to  this  purpose ;  and  it  appeared, 
also,  that  a  work  so  prepared,  would  be  more  accordant 
with  the  purposes  of  such  a  Society. 


IV  PREFACE. 

Dr.  Carey  has  been  made,  as  much  as  possible,  his 
own  biographer.  I  might  have  taken  the  original  docu- 
ments, and  have  woven  them  into  a  tissue  of  my  own  ; 
and,  instead  of  transcribing  naked  details  and  references, 
personal  and  incidental,  have  invested  them  with  a  style 
more  brief,  general  and  covert.  But  I  conceive  that  the 
design  of  such  a  work  is  to  describe  character,  and  to 
commemorate  labors.  To  do  the  former,  it  is  requisite, 
not  only  to  point  out  its  leading  constituent  elements,  but 
also  to  mark  well  the  external  providential  discipline  un- 
der which  they  have  been  consolidated,  wrought  up,  and 
moulded  to  their  ultimate  consistence  and  perfection.  And 
to  appreciate  the  labors  of  an  individual,  we  must  not  on- 
ly know  their  nature  and  their  magnitude,  but  the  pecu- 
liar trials  under  which  they  are  commenced  and  prose- 
cuted. 

All  that  I  can  desire  is,  that  the  volume  may  commend 
itself  to  the  candid  and  Christian  reader,  as  a  whole, 
without  presuming  that  each  part,  in  detail,  will  command 
his  approval.  And  if,  when  such  exceptions  are  taken, 
and  such  deductions  made,  as  those  to  which  I  am  con- 
scious it  may  be  thought  liable,  it  be  found  of  any  reli- 
gious utility,  my  labor  will  be  well  compensated. 

E.  C. 

Camberwell,  May  14th,  1836. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 
Introductory  Essay, ,...., ix 

CHAPTER  I. 

SECTION    I. 
His  own  Account  of  his  early  Life — Memorial  from  his  Sister — 
Brief  Notice  from  his  Brother — Recollection  from  Mr.  Scott, .  .        1 


SECTION  II. 

Editorial  Remarks — Various  Circumstances  connected  with  the 
Formation  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society — Fragment  of  Me- 
moir, &c.,  from  the  hand  of  Mr.  Fuller, 29 

CHAPTER  n. 

SECTION    I. 

Review  of  Difficulties  attending  the  Commencement  of  the  Baptist 
Mission — Rejection  of  the  Missionaries  from  the  Earl  of  Oxford, 
and  the  Consternation  it  occasioned — The  Revival  of  their 
Hopes,  and  their  Reembarkation,  under  Circumstances  more 
propitious, .      53 

SECTION  II. 

Brief  Account  of  the  Voyage,  by  Mr.  Thomas — Remarks  by  the 
Editor — Selections  from  Mr.    Carey's  Journal — Retrospect  by 
Mr.  Carey,  in  a  Letter  to  the  Society — Letter  to  his  Sisters, ...     65 
1* 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

SECTION    I. 


Page. 
le  unusually  trying  Circumstances  of  Mr.  Carey,  while  in  the 
Neighborhood  of  Calcutta — Letter  to  Mr.  SutclifF— His  Remov- 
al into  the  Sunderbunds — The  timely  Hospitalities  he  receives 
— Subsequent  Dejection  and  Perplexities — He  is  relieved  and 
comforted  by  an  Invitation  to  Malda, 85 

SECTION  II. 

Mr.  Thomas's  Account  of  his  Visit  to  Malda — ^Invitation  of  him- 
self and  Mr.  Carey  to  remove  thither — Mr.  Carey's  Journal 
continued — Account  of  Demoniacs — Journey  to  Malda,  Arrival, 
&c., 103 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SECTION    I. 

Improvement  in  Mr.  Carey's  secular  Circumstances — Commences 
his  Engagements — Proposes  to  relinquish  his  Support  from  the 
Society— Letter  to  Mr.  SutclifF, 122 

SECTION  II. 
Journal — Christian  Society — Languages,  &c., 132 

SECTION  III. 

Letter  to  his  Sisters — Letter  to  the  Society — Letter  to  Mr.  Pearce 
— Brief  Notice  respectmg  him — Letter  to  his  Sisters — Letter  to 
the  Society — Remarks  on  secular  Employments — Mission  to  Af- 
rica referred  to — Letter  from  Mr.  Thomas,    159 

SECTION  IV. 

Letters  to  Mr.  Fuller — Female  Agency — Letter  to  Mr.  Sutcliff — 
Letter  from  Mr.  Fountain  to  Mr.  Fuller — Letter  from  the  same 
to  the  Society — Letter  from  the  same  to  Mr.  Smith,  of  Eagle 
Street,  London — Letters  from  Mr.  Carey  to  his  Sisters — Letter  to 
Mr.   Fuller, 177 

SECTION  V. 
Letter  to  Mr.  Fuller — Journey  into  JBootan — Letter  to  Mr,  Fuller — 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

Page. 
Aspect  of  the  Mission,  Conversation  with  a  Brahmun — Discour- 
agements— Description  of  Fruits,  &c. — Letter  to  Mr.  SutclifF — 
-Letter  to  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society — Another  to  the  Socie- 
ty— ^Letter  to  Mr.  Fuller — The  Arrival  of  new  Missionaries, .  .  .    198 

CHAPTER  V. 

SECTION    I. 
Remarks  on  the  State  of  the  Mission  preparatory  to  its  removal  to 
Serampore — Letters    from   Mr.   Cunninghame — Newly  arrived 
Missionaries — Letter   from    Mr.    Fountain — Letters    from    Mr. 
Brunsdon, 234 

SECTION  II. 

Letter  to  Mr.  Fuller — Letters  to  his  Sisters — Letter  to  Dr.  Ryland 
— Mr.  Carey  and  Brethren  to  the  Society — Letter  from  Mr.  Ca- 
rey and  Mr.  Fuller, 250 

CHAPTER  VL 

SECTION    I. 
Letters  from  the  Missionaries  to  the  Society — i^marks  on  the  Pro- 
gress of  the  English  Language — Letter  from  Mr.  Carey  to  Mr. 
Fuller— Letters  to  Mr.  Sutcliff— Affliction  of  Mr.  Thomas— Let- 
ter to  Dr.  Ryland, 267 

SECTION  II.  / 

Various  Circumstances  in  Letters  to  his^  Sisters^^o  Mr.  Fullei 
and  Mr.  SutclifF — Baptismal  Contrq-x^rsy — jv^rm^ancement  of  the 
Work  among  the  Heathen — Alki^n  to  Sanscrit  Oration — Re- 
marks on  Native  Laborers-v-Ppposition  from  Government, ....    306 

SECTION  III. 

Dr.  Carey's  Affliction — His  Reflections  upon  the  Advancement  of 
the  Mission — A  crucified  Person  rescued  by  his  Son,  Mr.  Felix 
Carey — The  Work  in  Calcutta — Cannibalism  in  Sumatra — The 
Importance  of  his  Labors  to  succeeding  Missionaries — Destruc- 
tion of  the  Printing-Office  by  Fire — Sympathy  of  other  Chris- 
tians— His  pressing  Engagements — Death  of  Mr.  Fuller — rTj; 
Manner  in  which  Translations  are  prepared — His  Anxiety  and 
Advice  as  to  the  future  conducting  of  the  Mission, 337 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

SECTION  IV. 

Page. 
Formation  of  the  Agricultural  Society  in  India — Death  of  Mrs. 

Carey — ^Pleasing  Notice  of  religious  and  other  Improvement  in 

India  and  throughout  the  World — Recollection  of  his  religious 

and  ministerial  Associations  in  England — Is  appointed  Translator 

of  Government  Regulations — Death  of  Mr.  Ward — Election  to 

the  London  Linnaean,  Geological  and  Horticultural  Societies — 

Account  of  his  Accident  and  severe  Illness — Death  of  his  Son, 

Felix— Death  of  Dr.  Ryland, 363 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

Dr.  Carey's  declining  Health  and  Decease — His  last  Will — Reso- 
lution of  the  Committee  of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society — No- 
tice of  Life  and  last  Illness,  by  Mr.  Jonathan  Carey — Critique 
upon  the  literary  Character  and  Productions  of  Dr.  Carey,  by 
Professor  Wilson — General  Review  w^ith  Reflections, 377 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 


In  no  case,  perhaps,  is  the  principle  of  curiosity  more 
worthily  displayed,  than  in  the  enthusiasm  with  which 
we  survey  the  sources  from  which  have  arisen  any  thing 
that  is  vast  in  nature,  or  magnificent  in  result.  How 
many  a  mountain  has  been  scaled,  how  many  a  ravine 
has  been  threaded,  by  the  enterprising  European,  in 
search  of  the  Cow's  mouth,  that  gap  in  the  Himalaya 
mountains,  from  which  the  sacred  river  of  India  rushes 
forth,  to  pursue  its  course  over  a  thousand  provinces! 
How  many  a  traveller  has  perished  in  the  sandy  deserts 
of  Africa,  in  fruitless  search  for  the  source  of  the  Nile! 
In  such  enterprises,  every  one  of  us  sympathizes.  There 
is  a  grandeur  in  the  conception,  that  awes  whilst  it  arouses 
us.  The  inconsiderable  beginning  borrows  grandeur 
from  the  greatness  of  the  result,  and  we  easily  persuade 
ourselves  into  a  consciousness  of  some  indefinite  power, 
when  we  feel  that  we  have  taken  up  a  mighty  river  in 
the  hollow  of  our  hand. 

Thus  is  it  in  moral  events.  We  dwell  with  intense 
interest  upon  the  origin  of  a  revolution,  or  of  any  strik- 
ing transformation  in  the  social  character  of  man.     We 


X  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

love  to  trace  out  the  individuals  by  whom  this  change  in 
the  character  and  condition  of  their  fellows  was  first 
effected.  We  observe  the  working  of  their  minds,  and 
mark  how  and  when  the  great  principle  which  was  to 
work  out  so  mighty  transformations,  first  gained  the 
ascendancy  over  their  spirit.  We  scrutinize  the  cir- 
cumstances that  first  stripped  oflTfrom  it  the  covering  of 
ages,  and  revealed  it,  in  all  its  native  simplicity,  to  their 
view.  We  observe  the  changes  which  it  first  wrought 
in  them,  and  how,  gradually,  as  by  a  sort  of  moral  in- 
fection, the  same  changes  were  produced  in  others  who 
were  brought  within  the  circle  of  its  immediate  influence. 
In  doing  this,  we  not  unfrequently  obtain  deeper  and 
more  profound  views,  both  of  our  duty  and  of  our  desti- 
ny, and  awaken,  with  shame,  to  the  consciousness,  that 
we  might  also  have  done  well  and  nobly,  if  we  had  only 
willed  it. 

These  remarks,  it  will  be  at  once  perceived,  have  a 
direct  bearing  upon  the  subject  before  us.  The  estab- 
lishment of  Christianity  throughout  the  British  posses- 
sions in  Eastern  India,  is  of  itself  a  mighty  undertaking. 
The  people  among  whom  the  gospel  is  to  be  introduced, 
are  numbered  by  hundreds  of  millions;  they  have  been 
sunk,  for  ages,  to  the  lowest  level  of  civilization,  if  civ- 
ilization it  may  be  called,  and  they  are  bound  in  the 
chains  of  a  most  unrelenting  and  firmly  rooted  supersti- 
tion. For  many  years,  the  very  idea  of  ever  subverting 
Boodhism,  was  looked  upon  by  philosophers  and  states- 
men, and  even  abbes,  as  one  of  the  dreams  of  bewildered 
enthusiasm.  Nor  was  this  all.  A  very  strong  prepos- 
session evidently  existed  in  the  councils  of  the  East 
India  Company  against  making  the  attempt.  The  Com- 
pany was  annually  draining  the  East  of  its  treasures, 
the  worship  of  Juggernaut  was  yielding  to  the  mercan- 
tile lords  of  India  a  handsome  revenue,  and  the  civil 
and  military  ofiices,  which  the   government  had  to  be- 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY.  XI 

stow,  were  very  convenient  situations  for  those  younger 
sons  of  gentlemen,  for  whom  their  native  country  could 
find  no  employment,  either  in  the  army,  the  navy,  or 
the  church.  It  was  very  natural  to  ask,  why  should  so 
pleasant  a  state  of  things  be  jeoparded.  All  parties 
were  ready  with  the  prudent  maxim,  let  well  alone.  And 
to  every  appeal  on  the  ground  of  obligation  to  the  Hin- 
doos, to  every  call  of  Christian  philanthropy,  the  suffi- 
cient answer  was.  The  East  India  Company's  stock  is  a 
very  good  investment. 

But  we  are  happy  to  say  that  all  this  is  now  changed. 
Not  only  is  it  now  granted  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
British  nation  to  attempt  the  moral  renovation  of  India, 
but  it  is  avowed  that  the  work  must  be  done.  What 
was  once  considered  the  dream  of  an  enthusiast,  has 
already  become  a  principle  of  cabinet  policy.  Already 
have  three  or  four  bishoprics  been  created  by  the  gov- 
ernment in  Hindostan,  and,  over  one  of  them,  a  once 
despised  missionary  has  been  called  to  preside;  but, 
actually,  energetic  efforts  are  now  in  operation  to  send 
the  word  of  God  over  the  whole  land,  and  translate  it 
into  every  dialect;  and  even  missionaries  of  other  sects 
are  allowed  to  labor  without  molestation,  and  have  even 
been  treated,  by  the  dominant  power,  with  respect  and 
consideration.  In  fact,  though  every  step  in  the  im- 
provement of  the  policy  of  the  Company,  is  made  with 
the  cautious  timidity  of  men  who  are  walking  over  rocks 
and  pit-falls,  in  darkness  and  gloom,  surrounded  by 
spectres  and  hobgoblins,  yet  it  is  just  to  them  to  say 
that  their  measures  look  decidedly  to  the  universal  dif- 
fusion of  Christianity  in  India. 

It  must,  surely,  be  interesting,  to  trace  this  great 
revolution  in  public  sentiment  to  its  source,  and  behold 
from  what  feeble  beginnings  so  mighty  results  have 
originated.  It  will  give  us  additional  reason  to  have 
confidence  in  the  power  of  goodness.     It  will  show  us 


Xll  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

how  great  may  be  the  consequences  of  one  single  man's 
existence,  when  his  efforts  have  been  so  directed  as  to 
please  God.  And  if  the  success  of  those  efforts  has 
depended  on  moral,  rather  than  intellectual  causes,  it 
will  also  teach  us  that  we  are  not  more  useful,  only 
because  we  are  not  better  and  holier,  and  that,  if  our 
lives  are  valueless,  the  fault  is  not  in  the  circujnstances 
under  which  God  has  placed  us,  but  in  our  own  indo- 
lence and  sensuality,  our  own  infidelity  and  purblind 
worldliness.  In  a  higher  sense,  we  may  apply  to  our- 
selves the  saying  of  a  pagan: 

"  The  fault,  dear  Brutus,  is  not  in  our  stars, 
But  in  ourselves,  that  we  are  underlings." 

Julius  CdBsar. 

It  is  manifestly  history,  that  the  first  conception  of 
all  this  change  originated  with  William  Carey.  The 
corner-stone  of  this  edifice  was  laid  by  his  hand.  And, 
in  order  to  establish  this  more  firmly,  and  lay  the  weight 
of  all  this  honor  upon  him  exclusively  and  without  ques- 
tion, the  providence  of  God  so  ordered  it,  that,  at  first, 
everyone  was  glad  to  stand  aloof  from  him,  and  to  make 
it  known  that  they  did  so.  It  was  a  considerable  period 
after  his  own  mind  was  decided,  before  he  could  enlist 
even  the  sympathies  of  a  single  fellow-Christian  in  his 
favor.  A  longer  period  elapsed  before  any  one  was 
willing  to  aid  him  by  actual  exertion.  And,  when  every 
thing  was  ready  for  the  commencement  of  the  undertak- 
ing, he  was  refused  a  passage  in  one  of  the  Company's 
ships,  and  the  narrative  even  leaves  it  doubtful,  whether 
he  was  not  also  unceremoniously  defrauded  of  his  pas- 
sage money.  After  he  arrived  in  India,  he  was  obliged 
to  undertake  a  secular  employment  in  order  to  secure 
to  himself  the  privilege  of  a  residence  in  that  country, 
inasmuch  as  the  government,  which  allowed  any  Eng- 
lishman to  come  there  for  the  purpose  of  cheating  and 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY.  XllI 

oppressing  the  natives,  had  benevolently  resolved  that 
no  one  should  be  permitted  to  enter  their  territory  for 
the  sake  of  preaching  to  them  the  gospel.  And,  after 
he  had  resided  there  for  a  considerable  number  of  years, 
so  many  difficulties  were  thrown  in  his  way  by  the  regu- 
lations of  the  Company,  that  the  whole  undertaking  must 
have  been  relinquished,  had  he  not  found  an  asylum  in 
the  little  Danish  territory  of  Serampore. 

Such  being  the  facts  in  the  case,  it  must  be  interesting 
to  examine  the  character  of  the  man  in  whom  this  work 
had  its  commencement.  From  these  circumstances,  the 
following  memoir  derives  much  of  its  interest.  It  is  an 
unpretending  narrative  of  the  events  which  could  be 
gleaned  from  the  various  sources  that  exist,  of  the  life 
of  a  remarkable  man.  In  many  parts,  we  could  wish 
that  it  had  been  more  copious  and  specific,  and  had 
been  more  richly  stored  with  domestic  and  daily  inci- 
dent, and  illustrative  anecdote.  But  material  of  this 
sort  is  rarely  (perhaps  never  but  in  the  case  of  Johnson) 
recorded  during  the  lifetime  of  the  individual.  And  if 
it  so  happen  that  he  survive  most  of  his  contemporaries, 
whatever  had  been  treasured  up  in  the  memory  of  actual 
witnesses,  has  descended  before  him  to  the  tomb.  What 
remains  is  commonly  so  defaced  by  careless  recollection, 
or  exaggerated  by  the  love  for  the  marvellous,  that  it  is 
not  worth  preservation.  And,  hence,  when  what  is 
known  to  be  actual  fact,  comes  to  be  recorded,  the  pub- 
lic is  surprised  that  so  little  can  be  stated  concerning  a 
man  of  whom  it  seemed  before  that  every  one  knew  so 
much.  Such  is,  in  some  respects,  the  case  in  the  pres- 
ent instance.  Dr.  Carey,  in  the  vigor  of  his  life,  re- 
moved to  India,  and  resided  there  until  his  death,  in  the 
72d  year  of  his  age.  For  some  time  before  this  event, 
all  his  early  friends  in  Europe,  and  most  of  those  whom 
he  had  known  intimately  in  Asia,  had  been  gathered  to 
their  fathers.  Hence,  the  sources  of  information  had 
2: 


XIV  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

been  prematurely  dried  up.  He  seems  to  have  written 
very  little  concerning  himself,  as  he  considered  the  ivork 
in  which  he  was  engaged,  of  vastly  greater  importance 
than  the  workman.  While,  therefore,  we  regret  that 
we  have  not  the  means  of  becoming  more  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  man,  we  are  grateful  for  this  attempt 
to  collect  whatever  is  at  present  known  of  his  trials  and 
his  success,  his  labors  and  his  perseverance. 

And  here  we  may  add,  by  the  way,  that  the  work  is 
done  with  modesty  and  good  sense,  and  is  written 
with  piety,  candor  and  simplicity.  The  author  rarely 
indulges  his  imagination,  and  seldom  diverges  from  the 
plain  path  of  beaten  narrative.  Whatever  he  says  may 
be  relied  on  with  confidence,  and  will  be  perused  with 
interest.  We  would  gladly  have  had  more,  but  we  are 
thankful  that  we  have  so  much. 

In  the  intellectual  character  of  Dr.  Carey,  there  were 
none  of  the  elements  of  what  is  commonly  spoken  of, 
under  the  appellation  of  genius.  His  understanding 
was  strong  and  clear.  His  power  of  acquiring  language 
was  great,  and  his  taste  for  physical  science  decisive. 
He  was  said  to  be  almost  destitute  of  imagination.  In 
rich  intellectual  endowments,  therefore,  he  was  not 
peculiarly  distinguished.  The  secret  of  his  power 
resided  in  energy  of  will,  in  indomitable  perseverance, 
and  in  unconquerable  resolution.  Hence,  whatever  he 
possessed,  he  used  to  the  uttermost;  and,  by  so  using, 
he  every  day  made  it  greater.  In  this,  more  than  in 
any  thing  else,  he  differed  from  other  men.  Without 
this,  he  would  have  sunk  into  the  common  level,  and 
have  been  scarcely  known  out  of  his  native  village. 
By  means  of  it,  he  made  himself  one  of  the  first  men  of 
his  age,  and  has  sent  abroad  an  influence,  which  will 
continue  to  increase  with  every  year  of  our  world's 
duration. 

He  seems  to  have  had  a  tolerably  correct  estimate  of 
his  own  character.     To  his  nephew,  the  author  of  the 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY.  XV 

Memoir,  he  said,  "Eustace,  you  may  know  by  this, 
whether  what  they  say  of  me  is  true.  If  they  say  I  am 
a  plodder,  it  is  true.  I  have  no  genius,  but  I  can  plod.''^* 
This,  if  we  use  the  word  plod  to  signify  the  steadfast, 
unimaginative  direction  of  the  intellect  to  a  single  sub- 
ject, is  the  fact.  Whenever  Dr.  Carey  saw  a  work  to 
be  done,  without  any  peculiar  mental  excitation,  or  any 
pompous  flourish  of  trumpets,  he  resolutely  set  himself 
to  accomplish  it.  Without  complaining  of  difficulties, 
or  bemoaning  the  want  of  sympathy,  he  labored  at  it  as 
a  daily  avocation.  The  result  was,  that  while  men  of 
genius  would  have  been  speculating  upon  the  results, 
while  the  work  remained  untouched,  and  while  men  of 
feeling  would  have  been  mourning  over  the  heartless- 
ness  of  the  world,  which  left  them  to  do  so  good  a  thing 
alone,  he  was  already  in  medias  res,  and,  before  they 
had  awaked  from  their  reverie,  he  had  accomplished  his 
labor.  This  is  only  one  of  the  many  illustrations  to  the 
truth,  that,  if  not  the  very  highest,  yet  certainly  one  of 
the  very  highest  gifts  of  Heaven  to  an  individual,  is  an 
energetic  and  well-directed  will.  Every  other  attribute 
of  man  has  frequently  balked  our  expectation.  This 
has  deceived  us  never. 

Dr.  Carey  possessed,  also,  in  a  remarkable  degree, 
a  childlike  simplicity  of  character,  and,  also,  that  which 
is  commonly  united  with  it,  a  stern  and  uncompromising 
moral  integrity.  Concealment  was  apparently  out  of  his 
power.  It  seemed  as  though  nature  had  rendered  him 
incapable  of  any  thing  other  than  perfect  transparent 
openness  of  purpose.  When  he  went  out  to  India,  as 
we  have  remarked,  he  was  registered  as  an  agriculturist, 
and  truly,  since  he,  for  several  years,  superintended  an 
indigo  plantation,  and  from  this  employment  derived  his 
sustenance.     But  he  scorned  to  make  any  concealment 

*  We  have  not  the  book  at  hand,  but  quote  from  recollection. 


XVI  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

of  his  business  in  India,  and,  in  conversation  with  men 
in  power,  always  spake  of  it  with  the  same  frankness  as 
he  would  have  used  on  any  other  subject. 

Hence,  he  was  utterly  destitute  of  what  may  be  called 
diplomatic  talent.  He  never  imposed  upon  others,  and 
he  so  rarely  suspected  them,  that  he  was  somewhat  lia- 
ble to  be  imposed  upon  himself.  In  this  respect,  he 
differed  from  the  celebrated  Swartz.  Swartz,  with  all 
his  simplicity,  was  cautious,  shrewd  and  foresighted, 
and  endowed  with  all  those  instincts  which  give  a  man 
influence  over  others.  He  was  really  the  Bishop  of 
India,  and,  like  the  apostles,  he  has  had  no  successor. 
Carey  was  entirely  unlike  him,  in  all  these  respects. 
How  what  he  said  would  strike  others,  in  what  manner 
it  would  affect  their  estimation  of  him,  he  never  consid- 
ered. When  he  had  any  thing  to  say,  he  said  it  all,  and 
he  said  it  at  once,  without  thinking  whether  saying 
the  half  of  it  would  or  would  not  answer  his  purpose 
better,  or,  whether  or  not,  a  part  might  not  be  re- 
served with  advantage  for  another  audience,  or  another 
occasion. 

In  matters  of  conscience,  he  was,  as  was  meet,  scru- 
pulously punctilious.  He  doubted  the  lawfulness  of 
oaths,  and  hence,  no  matter  to  what  inconvenience  his 
refusal  to  take  them  might  subject  him,  he  held  undevi- 
atingly  to  his  principle.  He  chose  to  suffer  the  incon- 
venience of  postponing  his  last  marriage  for  three  weeks 
after  the  appointed  time,  rather  than  certify,  on  oath, 
to  the  facts  necessary  to  procure  a  license. 

But  while  he  was,  in  the  intellectual  structure  of  his 
mind,  plain,  practical  and  unimaginative,  he  was  endow- 
ed, in  a  remarkable  degree,  with  the  attribute  of  faith, 
a  principle  of  vastly  greater  active  and  enduring  effi- 
ciency than  poetic  and  sympathetic  enthusiasm.  His 
confidence  in  the  promises  of  God  was  unshaken,  and 
his  trust   in  the  results  of  the  laws  of  God  unwavering. 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY.  XVli 

Hence,  when  he  had  a  moral  end  in  view,  he  set  him- 
self at  work  to  bring  about  the  means  necessary  to  effect 
it,  without  wasting  any  mental  energy  upon  the  calcula- 
tion of  the  different  chances  of  success  or  failure.  His 
motto  was,  "attempt  great  things,  expect  great! 
THINGS."  Hence,  although  he  was  really  a  very  hum- 
ble man,  and  had  by  no  means  an  exaggerated  estimate 
either  of  his  own  power,  or  of  the  power  of  the  human 
race,  yet,  when  he  had  made  up  his  mind  in  respect  to 
a  course  to  be  pursued,  or  an  end  to  be  effected,  it  is 
surprising  to  observe  how  little  regard  he  paid  to  the 
opinions  or  the  opposition  of  others.  If  the  thing  was 
right,  he  felt  that  it  must  succeed,  let  men  say  what  they 
would.  At  all  events,  while  he  left  other  men  to  the 
same  liberty,  he  considered  himself  bound  to  pursue 
steadfastly  and  kindly,  his  own  course,  and  leave  the 
question  of  success  or  failure  to  be  settled  by  the  future 
developments  of  an  all-wise  Providence. 

The  temper  of  Dr.  Carey  was  kind,  and  his  habit  that 
of  uniform  cheerfulness.  Though  never  enthusiastic, 
he  seems  to  have  been  rarely  desponding.  This  happy 
equanimity  was  of  great  importance  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  vast  labors  which  devolved  upon  him.  It 
enabled  him  to  pursue  his  studies  without  those  interrup- 
tions, to  which,  from  change  in  nervous  temperament, 
many  sedentary  men  are  exposed.  He  went  to  his  work 
light-hearted,  and  he  rose  from  it  physically  wearied, 
but  with  spirits  unbroken,  and  feelings  undepressed.  It 
would  add  very  much  to  the  active  efficiency  of  literary 
men,  if  they  would  cultivate  this  habit  more  assiduously; 
and  medical  science  would  confer  a  valuable  gift  upon 
the  other  professions,  if  it  would  inform  them  how  it 
may  be  cultivated  with  the  best  hope  of  success.  To 
this,  I  am  aware,  that  it  may  be  replied,  in  the  words  of 
Macbeth 's  physician,  "  In  this,  the  patient  must  minister 
unto  himself"     But  such  a  reply  is  behind  the  spirit  of 


XVlll  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

the  age,  and  testifies  to  an  ignorance  of  the  intimate 
connexion  between  the  mind  and  the  body,  and  of  the 
effect  that  may  be  produced  upon  the  intellectual  and 
impulsive,  by  a  proper  management  of  the  physical  sys- 
tem. Much  of  the  sadness  of  sedentary  men  is  owing 
to  irregularity  of  diet  and  of  sleep,  to  over-eating,  and 
the  want  of  sufficient  and  systematic  exercise. 

Another  fact  to  be  remarked  in  Dr.  Carey,  was  his 
unwearied  diligence  and  most  scrupulous  employment 
of  every  moment  of  his  time,  to  the  purposes  to  which 
he  had  consecrated  it.  He  would  scarcely  allow  him- 
self to  write  a  letter,  unless  it  was  demanded  by  an  im- 
perative command  of  duty.  Early  and  late,  he  was  at 
his  table,  with  his  pundits;  and  we  are  given  to  under- 
stand, that  his  powers  of  labor  were  so  great,  as  to 
consume  the  strength  of  three  of  them  incessantly.  Not 
only  was  he  thus  constantly  employed,  he  was  also  select 
in  the  objects  to  which  his  labors  were  devoted.  Hence, 
he  seems  to  have  denied  himself  the  pleasures  of  litera- 
ture, properly  so  called,  and  was  contented  to  be  a 
thorough-going  Oriental  linguist.  He  knew,  that  he 
who  meant  to  excel  in  every  thing  generally  succeeds 
in  nothing;  and  here  he  left  unattempted  much  that  was 
pleasing,  for  the  sake  of  that  which  was  useful.  Yet, 
whilst  acting  upon  these  principles,  he  took  no  narrow 
or  exclusive  views  of  his  duties.  He  considered  him- 
self not  merely  a  missionary,  and  a  translator  of  the 
Scriptures,  but  also  a  man  and  a  citizen  of  India. 
Hence,  he  cheerfully  undertook  any  labor,  which,  in 
any  manner,  tended  to  the  physical  or  intellectual  bene- 
fit of  the  natives,  or  to  the  advancement  of  the  arts  of 
peace  among  the  European  residents.  At  his  instance, 
an  Asiatic  Agricultural  Society  was  formed,  of  which  he 
was,  for  several  years,  the  president  and  the  most  active 
supporter.  In  conformity  with  the  same  views,  hie  de- 
voted a  considerable  portion  of  time  to  the  study  of 
botany,  and  became  one  of  the  most  distinguished  bota- 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY.  XIX 

nists  of  the  East.  His  garden  and  his  collection  of 
specimens  and  illustrations  in  physical  science  were 
among  the  most  valuable  (I  believe  the  most  valuable) 
in  the  country;  and  he  has  the  honor  of  first  describing 
several  species  of  plants,  which  had  eluded  the  search 
of  preceding  naturalists. 

It  will  also  be  interesting  to  the  reader  of  the  follow- 
ing pages,  to  observe  the  manner  in  which  Dr.  Carey 
was  prepared,  by  a  course  of  providential  discipline, 
for  the  important  station  which  he  was  destined  to  occupy. 

Like  most  of  the  master  minds  of  all  ages,  he  was  ed- 
ucated in  the  school  of  adversity.  From  early  life,  he 
was  called  to  struggle  with  poverty,  and  from  the  walk 
of  life  in  which  his  path  lay,  derived  neither  assistance 
in  his  pursuits,  nor  encouragement  in  his  studies  from 
any  of  his  associates.  His  first  acquaintance  with  the 
learned  languages  was  formed  at  the  shoemaker's  bench. 
When  he  left  this  employment,  and  devoted  himself  to 
the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  he  and  his  family,  not  unfre- 
quently,  knew  by  experience  what  it  meant  to  be  actu- 
ally in  want  of  bread.  And  during  the  most  flourishing 
period  of  his  residence  in  England,  he  never  emerged 
from  the  most  straitened  circumstances.  Hence,  he 
learned  hardness,  and  became  familiar  with  self-denial; 
and,  hence,  the  personal  inconveniences  which  would 
have  daunted  the  resolution  of  a  man  delicately  brought 
up,  were  to  him  so  much  matters  of  course,  that  he 
seemed  scarcely  to  be  conscious  of  their  existence. 

The  natural  independence  of  his  character  was  strong- 
ly and  painfully  tested.  I  have  already  alluded  to  the 
fact,  that,  at  first,  no  one  stood  by  him.  After  his  breth- 
ren had  been  persuaded  to  embark  in  the  enterprise, 
the  whole  power  of  the  East  India  Company  was  exerted 
in  resolute  opposition  to  it.  But  this  was  not  all.  When 
he  went  out  to  India,  he  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Thom- 
as, who  had  resided  there  as  a  surgeon,  and  who  return- 
ed for  the  purpose  of  being  of  moral  benefit  to  the  na- 


XX  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

tives.  But  Mr.  Thomas  proved  an  unfortunate  associate ; 
of  irritable  temper,  and  utterly  destitute  of  pecuniary 
forecast,  he  was  perpetually  involved  in  personal  diffi- 
culties. Though  warm  and  enthusiastic,  he  was  fickle 
and  inconstant,  at  one  time  quitting  preaching  for  pro- 
fessional practice,  and,  at  another,  relinquishing  profes- 
sional emolument  for  preaching.  Hence,  at  the  outset, 
the  only  friend  on  whom  he  had  relied,  out  of  his  own 
family,  in  India,  proved  one  of  his  severest  trials;  and 
he  found  himself  obliged  to  form  his  own  plans,  and  car- 
ry out  his  own  suggestions,  without  advice  and  without 
assistance. 

But  a  severer  trial  awaited  him  in  his  own  family.  To 
the  domestic  circle,  a  man  instinctively  resorts  for  conso- 
lation, when  buffeted  by  the  world  without.  But  Dr. 
Carey  resorted  thither  in  vain.  His  wife  seems  to  have 
labored  under  a  hereditary  tendency  to  insanity,  which 
exhibited  itself  in  various  shapes,  long  before  it  assumed 
the  form  of  permanent  mental  alienation.  She  was,  it 
appears,  querulous  and  unreasonable,  capricious  and 
obstinate.  Hence,  his  home  must  have  been  the  abode 
of  every  thing  but  cheerfulness.  When  every  thing 
around  him  was  dark  and  lowering,  he  retired  to  his 
family  for  sympathy  and  encouragement,  and  he  found 
that  he  had  exchanged  the  mists  of  the  evening  for  the 
gloom  of  midnight. 

Yet  amidst  all  this,  he  abated  "not  a  jot  of  heart  or 
hope."  Always  serene,  always  cheerful,  always  ready 
to  confer  happiness  on  others,  he  pursued  the  plan 
which  he  had  marked  out,  with  the  same  unruffled  calm- 
ness as  though  every  one  cheered  and  every  one  encour- 
aged him.  The  whole  circle  of  literary  biography  pre- 
sents no  more  interesting  or  impressive  instance  of 
patient,  uncomplaining,  steadfast  perseverance  in  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge,  amidst  every  discouragement, 
and  under  circumstances  which  would  have  sunk  almost 
any  other  man  in  blank  and  hopeless  despondency. 


INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY.  XXj 

And  under  these  discouragements  he  would  have  sunk, 
had  it  not  been  for  his  religion.  The  love  of  Christ  sus-  ■ 
tained  him,  while  he  looked  not  at  the  things  that  are 
seen,  but  at  the  things  that  are  not  seen.  It  was  faith 
in  the  promises  of  God  that  buoyed  him  up,  and  the  ex- 
ceeding weight  of  glory  that  shed  light  on  his  path,  when 
that  path  led  him  through  the  thickest  darkness.  He 
felt  that  he  was  a  stranger  and  a  pilgrim,  and  he  knew 
that  such  things  are  to  be  expected  by  strangers  and 
pilgrims.  He  was  seeking  a  better  country,  even  a 
heavenly,  and  what  happened  to  him  here,  seemed  but 
of  secondary  consequence,  if  it  occurred  to  him  on  the 
road  to  his  eternal  resting-place.  His  was  preeminent- 
ly a  life  of  faith,  and  it  wrought  out  in  him,  as  its  natu- 
ral result,  the  labor  of  love. 

His  efforts,  even  in  this  life,  were  not,  however,  unre- 
warded. His  talents  and  learning  raised  him,  eventual- 
ly, to  the  highest  rank  among  the  eminent  men  of  his 
age,  and  his  benevolence  has  enrolled  his  name  among 
the  benefactors  of  India  and  of  the  world.  He  was,  for 
several  years,  professor  of  Bengali  and  Sanscrit,  in  the 
College  of  Fort  William,  in  Calcutta,  was  translator  of 
the  laws  and  ordinances  for  the  government,  besides 
holding  some  other  offices  of  honor  and  emolument. 
Hence,  his  income,  during  the  latter  years  of  his  life, 
was  large,  and  his  expenses  considerable.  Yet,  in  his 
own  habits  and  manners,  he  retained  his  original  sim- 
plicity, and  though  in  frequent  intercourse  with  the  great, 
came  away  from  the  contact  untarnished. 

Whatever  he  earned,  he  considered  a  sacred  deposit 
for  the  missionary  cause.  He  died  poor,  and,  in  his 
will,  disavows  any  and  every  personal  right  to  the  mis- 
sionary premises,  which  he  had  mainly  contributed  to 
purchase  and  erect.  Thus  he  lived,  honored  and  belov- 
ed, and  when  his  sun  sunk  in  the  west,  it  sunk  spotless 
and  in  a  cloudless  horizon. 


XXll  INTRODUCTORY    ESSAY. 

The  lesson  from  all  this  may  be  very  easily  told.  It 
teaches  us  how  much  usefulness  and  distinction  depend 
upon  moral  elements.  Dr.  Carey's  mere  intellect,  dis- 
joined from  his  steadfast  resolution,  his  untiring  labor, 
his  cheerful  perseverance,  and  his  unconquerable  faith, 
would  never  have  given  him  the  rank  which  he  attained. 
It  was  then,  either  moral,  or  directly  the  result  of  mor- 
al elements,  that  made  him  what  he  was.  Let  those, 
then,  that  complain  of  their  circumstances,  look  at  his. 
Let  those  who  look  with  loathing  at  the  smallness  of 
their  field  of  labor,  compare  theirs  with  that  of  Dr.  Ca- 
rey at  the  commencement,  and  learn,  from  him,  how  a 
small  field  may  be  enlarged.  The  world  is  surely  large 
enough  for  any  common  man's  effort.  If  he  has  the 
spirit  which  prompts  him  to  attempt  great  things,  let  him 
attempt  them,  but  let  him  never  expect  them,  until  he  has 
summoned  energy  to  make  the  attempt. 

But  let  him  emulate  Dr.  Carey's  humility  and  kind- 
ness, his  plain,  unvarnished  honesty  and  common  sense, 
as  well  as  his  energy  of  character.  He  embarked  in 
nothing  but  the  attempt  to  fulfil  one  of  the  explicitly  re- 
vealed commands  of  God,  and  to  fulfil  it  precisely  in 
the  way  that  God  had  commanded.  And  though  he  was 
frequently  called  to  be  a  pioneer,  and  to  act  alone,  he 
acted  with  uniform  mildness  and  unobtrusive  modesty. 
Instead  of  abusing  others,  because  they  would  not  co- 
operate with  him,  he  only  worked  the  harder  himself 
He  thus  overcame  their  opposition  by  example,  instead 
of  embittering  it  by  recrimination  and  abuse.  Hence, 
very  few  men  have  opposed  inveterate  prejudice  with  so 
little  loss  from  friction,  or  added  so  largely  to  the  list  of 
his  friends,  from  the  number  of  his  formerly  decided 
enemies. 

Brown  UNivERsixy,  August  6,  1836. 


'flOPERTV 

PBIKCETGIT 
.REC.JUNia^i 

TEBOLOGICitL 


MEMOIR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SECTION  I. 

HIS    OWN    ACCOUNT    OF    HIS    EARLY    LIFE MEMORIAL  FROM  HIS 

SISTER — BRIEF    NOTICE  FROM  HIS    BROTHER RECOLLECTION 

FROM  MR.  SCOTT. 

It  seems  due  alike  to  the  social  as  to  the  religious  interests 
of  our  nature,  gratefully  to  commemorate,  and  diligently  to 
ponder,  the  lives  of  men,  who,  with  more  than  ordinary  inten- 
sity and  success,  have  consecrated  themselves  to  the  welfare 
of  their  species.  A  just  exposition  of  those  principles  which 
have  mainly  governed  them,  and  a  faithful  record  of  their 
developments,  by  quickening  the  zeal  of  other  minds,  may 
multiply  their  influences  far  beyond  the  sphere  in  which  they 
were  first  exerted,  and  prolong  their  effects  to  succeeding  ages. 
When  Christian  virtues  are  offered  to  our  view,  in  living  exem- 
plifications, and  in  striking  prominence,  amidst  impediments 
such  as  beset  ourselves,  we  are  at  once  reproved  for  our 
supineness,  and  incited  to  imitation.  God  himself  has  conde- 
scended to  instruct  us  through  this  medium  ;  as  much,  perhaps, 
as  by  prescriptive  rule.  The  principal  and  immutable  law  of 
our  salvation,  was  illustrated,  in  the  very  infancy  of  the  world, 
by  the  creation  of  a  bright  exemplar  of  it  in  the  case  of  Abra- 
ham. Thus,  too,  our  blessed  Savior,  whilst,  by  his  vicarious 
sufferings,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  our  recovery,  and  paid  the 
2 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

price  of  our  ransom,  by  his  holiness  and  his  love,  he  brightly 
irradiated  those  essential  morals,  in  which  the  beauty  and  per- 
fection of  evangelical  obedience  consist.  Christians  are  ex- 
horted to  be  imitators  of  God,  as  dear  children ;  and,  as  they 
conform  to  their  fair  original,  they  are  fitted  to  exert  a  melio- 
rating and  transforming  influence  upon  each  other  and  upon  the 
world. 

Faithful  religious  biography  is  a  department  of  Christian 
literature  of  acknowledged  importance  ;  and  of  this,  no  varie- 
ty meets  with  more  general  acceptance  among  pious  readers, 
or  is  of  greater  practical  utility,  than  that  which  has  been  fur- 
nished of  late  years,  by  the  annals  of  Christian  missions.  The 
life  of  Henry  Martyn,  in  which  the  tenderness,  simplicity,  and 
glowing  fervor  of  Christian  love  are  so  eminently  conspicuous  ; 
and  that  of  John  Chamberlain,  whose  devote  dness  to  God  has 
seldom  been  surpassed  in  modern  times;  who  displayed  a 
seraphic  fervor,  combined,  as  it  was,  with  a  peasant-like 
plainness,  unabated  through  all  the  painful  details  of  mission- 
ary labor,  for  twenty  years  in  succession ;  well  desei-ve  the 
diligent  perusal  of  persons  of  every  religious  persuasion,  and 
to  become  the  daily  manuals  of  all  those  who  design  to  assay 
their  principles  in  a  similar  enterprise. 

The  subject  of  the  ensuing  memoir  has  been  long  before  the 
public ;  and  his  literary  and  religious  labors  have  been  refer- 
red to  with  frequent  and  lofty  eulogy.  Yet,  a  full  and  consist- 
ent view  of  his  character,  and  his  engagements,  such  as  cannot 
be  collected  from  the  occasional  panegyrics  of  individuals,  or 
from  the  documents  of  official  bodies,  may  prove  agreeable  to 
many,  to  whom  no  other  medium  of  information  has  hitherto 
been  open,  and  not  unacceptable  to  any  class  of  persons,  who 
take  an  interest  in  the  advancement  of  saving  truth  in  the 
world.  Much  of  the  matter  incorporated  in  this  volume  is 
from  Dr.  Carey's  own  hand ;  whilst  other  portions  are  supplied 
from  sources  which,  it  is  presumed,  cannot  fail  of  being  high- 
ly gratifying  to  the  reader.  The  compiler  trusts,  also,  that  this 
circumstance  may  be  allowed  to  exonerate  him  from  the  charge 
of  temerity,  in  undertaking  to  prepare  this  work  for  the 
public. 

Dr.  Carey  had  his  own  views  upon  the  subject  of  biograph- 
ical composition,  and  expressed  to  me,  during  my  early  resi- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  3 

dence  in  India,  his  wishes  with  respect  to  any  record  of  himself. 
These  are  hkely  to  be  best  complied  with,  by  allowing  him,  as 
much  as  possible,  to  retrace  the  steps  of  his  own  history,  and 
to  delineate  his  own  character.  The  first  document  presented 
to  the  reader,  addressed  to  Mr.  Fuller,  at  his  request,  is  one  in 
which  he  narrates  the  circumstances  and  events  of  his  early 
life,  up  to  the  period  of  his  entrance  on  the  ministry,  and  his 
succeeding  to  a  pastoral  charge.  While  it  cannot  but  interest, 
as  describing  the  early  condition  and  the  mental  predicament 
of  a  person  destined  to  become  of  such  ultimate  service  to 
the  church  of  God,  and  to  mankind,  and  as  faithfully  recording 
the  incipient  movements  of  that  Providence,  which,  from 
means  and  instruments  of  little  original  promise,  completes 
the  grandest  issues ;  it  yet  possesses  a  much  higher  value,  as 
it  incidentally  portrays  the  moral  features  of  his  character. 
So  that,  from  this  brief  sketch,  with  which  he  has  favored  the 
world,  more  may  be  known  of  Dr.  Carey  than  a  volume  could 
furnish  coming  from  the  hand  of  another.  The  unvarnished 
plainness  of  this  narration,  and  the  deep  compunction  with 
which  he  adverts  to  the  imperfections  he  supposed  to  attach  to 
him  tlii-ough  life,  will  commend  themselv^es  to  the  judgment  of 
all  those  who  prefer  truth  to  fable ;  a  pictm-e,  the  just  simili- 
tude of  the  subject  for  which  it  stands,  to  any  finished  com- 
pound of  reality  and  fiction,  which,  when  detected,  never  fails 
to  shock  and  deeply  to  impair  the  moral  feeling.  There  is  no 
blinking  of  the  former  obscurity  of  his  condition,  from  a  mor- 
bid apprehension  of  disparagmg  his  afi;er  celebrity;  nor  is 
there  any  such  minute  detailing  of  unimportant  cu'cumstances, 
as  might  gratify  the  cm-ious,  without  answering  any  valuable 
purpose;  and  which,  under  the  guise  of  humility,  would 
subtilly  derive  to  him  additional  lustre,  fi-om  the  contrast  it 
would  exhibit,  to  the  eminence  he  subsequently  attained.  He 
had  too  much  real  dignity,  to  permit  himself  to  feel  that  sen- 
sitiveness, which  would  expose  him  to  the  former  infirmity ; 
whilst  a  genuine  Christian  simplicity,  and  an  almost  intuitive 
sense  of  moral  propriety,  rendered  him  abhorent  of  the  latter. 
During  the  first  part  of  my  residence  in  India,  my  intercourse 
with  him  was  unrestrained  and  intimate.  I  was  the  only  sur- 
viving son  of  his  only  brother.  At  this  time,  there  was  no 
circumstance,  of  personal  or  relative  interest,  that  did  not  pass 


4  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

under  tender  and  lively  review.  The  events  of  his  early  days 
he  related  with  as  much  freshness,  as  though  they  had  occur- 
red but  yesterday :  and  then,  when  he  referred  to  the  graver 
incidents  and  pursuits  of  advancing  life,  he  did  so  with  the 
candor  and  seriousness,  becoming  the  man  and  the  Christian. 
He  has  said  to  me,  '  Eustace,  as  to  the  circumstances  of  my 
former  life,  I  recur  to  them  with  humility  and  thankfulness. 
They  were  the  allotment  of  Providence,  and  no  doubt  subserv- 
ed a  good  purpose.  I  would  not  make  them  matter  of  parade, 
as  though  they  were  to  be  gloried  in.  If  I  am  not  esteemed 
the  less  for  them,  that  is  all  I  can  desire.  I  have  known  the 
time  when  I  wanted  the  necessaries  of  life ;  but  I  do  not  rec- 
ollect ever  to  have  murmured.  I  now  have  every  thing  in 
abundance,  and  I  enjoy  what  God  has  given  me.  I  think  I  can 
say,  "  I  know  both  how  to  be  abased,  and  I  know  how  to  abound ; 
I  am  instructed,  both  to  be  full  and  to  be  hungry ;  both  to 
abound,  and  to  suffer  need."  ' 

Upon  one  occasion,  he  expressed  to  me  his  utter  want  of 
sympathy  with  some  Christian  friends  in  England,  whose  in- 
tense curiosity  in  little  things  led  them  to  search  out,  and 
exhibit  sundry  relics  of  his  early  days,  as  the  '  board '  which 
was  said  to  advertise  his  business,  and  the  crockery  out  of 
which  he  drank,  when  at  Hackleton.  All  exaggerated  state- 
ments, moreover,  of  his  acquirements  or  his  labors,  were 
unwelcome  and  offensive.  When  one  of  his  brethren  refer- 
red to  the  terms  of  commendation  in  which  Mr.  Wilberforce 
mentioned  him  in  the  House  of  Commons,  during  the  debate 
upon  the  renewal  of  the  Company's  charter,  in  1813,  he  repli- 
ed, '  I  wish  people  would  let  me  die  before  they  praise  me.' 

'August  Uth,  1804. 
*My  dear  Brother, 

'You  have  desired  me  to  write  you  an  account  of  the  prin- 
cipal occurrences  in  my  life.  I  will  try  to  do  it ;  but  it  is 
accompanied  with  as  strict  an  injunction,  as  I  can  give,  that  it 
may  not  be  published  as  mine,  so  long  as  I  live.  Of  course, 
if  any  part  of  it  be  inserted  in  any  magazine,  it  ought  to  be  so 
altered,  that  places  and  persons  may  not  be  recognized.  Hav- 
ing laid  this  injunction  upon  you,  as  a  Christian  brother,  by  me 
very  dearly  beloved,  I  give  you  the  following  particulars. 


MEMOIR   OF    DR.  CARET.  5 

'  Of  my  family,  I  know  nothing  more  than  that  my  grandfa- 
ther, who  I  have  heard  was  born  at  Yelvertoft,  was  master  of 
the  school  which  my  father  now  superintends.  He  died  while 
my  father  was  very  yomig,  and  left  two  sons ;  Peter,  who  was 
a  gardener,  and  Edmund,  my  father,  who  was  put  apprentice  to 
a  weaver,  which  business  he  followed  till  I  was  about  six 
years  of  age,  when  he  was  nominated  master  of  the  small 
free-school  in  which  his  father  died. 

'  I  was  born  in  the  village  of  Paulerspury,  in  Northampton- 
shire, August  17,  1761.  My  education  was  that  which  is 
generally  esteemed  good  in  country  villages,  and  my  father 
being  schoolmaster,  I  had  some  advantages  which  other  chil- 
dren of  my  age  had  not.*  Li  the  first  fourteen  years  of  my 
life,  I  had  many  advantages  of  a  religious  nature,  but  was 
wholly  unacquainted  with  the  scheme  of  salvation  by  Christ. 
During  this  time  I  had  many  stirrings  of  mind,  occasioned  by 
my  being  often  obliged  to  read  books  of  a  religious  character; 
and  having  been  accustomed,  from  my  infancy,  to  read  the 
Scriptures,  I  had  a  considerable  acquaintance  therewith,  espe- 
cially with  the  historical  parts.  I  also  have  no  doubt  but  the 
constant  reading  of  the  Psalms,  Lessons,  &c.,  in  the  parish 
church,  which  I  was  obliged  to  attend  regularly,  tended  to  fur- 
nish my  mind  with  a  general  Scripture  knowledge. 

'  Of  real  experimental  religion,  I  scarcely  heard  any  thing 
till  I  was  fourteen  years  of  age ;  nor  was  the  formal  attendance 
upon  outward  ceremonies,  to  which  I  was  compelled,  the  mat- 
ter of  my  choice.  I  chose  to  read  books  of  science,  history,  voy- 
ages, &c.,  more  than  any  others.  Novels  and  plays  always 
disgusted  me,  and  I  avoided  them  as  much  as  I  did  books  of 
religion,  and  perhaps  from  the  same  motive.  I  was  better 
pleased  with  romances ;  and  this  circumstance  made  me  read 
Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress  with  eagerness,  though  to  no 
purpose. 

'  My  companions  were  at  this  time  such  as  could  only  serve 
to  debase  the  mind,  and  lead  me  into  the  depths  of  that  gross 
conduct  which  prevails  among  the  lower  classes  in  the  most 
neglected  villages :  so  that  I  had  sunk  into  the  most  awful 

*  His  father,  Mr.  Edmund  Carey,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Thomas  Blundell,  dated  Pau- 
lerspury, August  9,  1815,  says,  that '  he  was  always  attentive  to  learning,  when  a 
boy,  and  was  a  very  good  arithmetician.' 

2* 


6  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

profligacy  of  conduct.  I  was  addicted  to  swearing,  lying,  and 
unchaste  conversation  ;  which  was  heightened  by  the  company 
of  ringers,  psalm-singers,  foot-ball  players,  the  society  of  a  black- 
smith's shop,  &c.,  &c. ;  and,  though  my  father  laid  the  strictest 
injunctions  on  me,  to  avoid  such  company,  I  always  found 
some  way  to  elude  his  care. 

'  A  very  painful  disease  paved  the  way  for  my  being  brought 
under  the  gospel  sound.  From  about  seven  years  of  age,  I 
was  afflicted  with  a  very  painful  cutaneous  disease,  which, 
though  it  scarce  ever  appeared  in  the  form  of  eruption,  yet 
made  the  sun's  rays  insupportable  to  me.  This  unfitted  me  for 
earning  my  living  by  labor  in  the  field,  or  elsewhere  out  of 
doors.  My  parents  were  poor,  and  unable  to  do  much  for  me  ; 
but  being  much  aflfected  with  my  situation,  they  with  great 
difliculty  put  me  apprentice  to  a  shoemaker  at  Hackleton.' 

His  account  to  Dr.  Ryland  is  a  little  more  explicit,  and  dis- 
credits the  report,  somewhat  current  in  Northamptonshire,  that 
he  was  a  very  incompetent  workman. 

'  At  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  I  was  bound  apprentice  to 
Clarke  Nichols,  of  Hackleton,  a  shoemaker.  He  died  when  I 
had  been  with  him  about  two  years.  I  engaged  to  pay  his 
widow  a  certain  sum,  for  the  remainder  of  the  time  for  which 
I  was  bound,  and  from  that  time  worked  as  a  journeyman 
with  Mr.  T.  Old,  of  Hackleton,  till  his  death.  The  childish 
story  of  my  shortening  a  shoe  to  make  it  longer,  is  entitled  to 
no  credit,  though  it  would  be  very  silly  in  me  to  pretend  to 
recollect  all  the  shoes  I  made.  I  was  accounted  a  very  go- 
workman,  and  recollect  Mr,  Old  keeping  a  pair  of  shoes  wl^ 
I  had  made  in  his  shop,  as  a  model  of  good  workmaii^h^p. 
But  the  best  workmen  sometimes,  from  various  causes,  put 
bad  work  out  of  their  hands,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  I  did  so 


too 


/ 


'My  master  was  a  strict  ChuflKiman,  and,  what!  thought,  a 
very  moral  man.  It  is  true  he  Sometimes  drank  rather  too 
freely,  and  generally  employed  me  in  carryi;?^  out  goods  on 
the  Lord's-day  morning,  till  near  churchtm^;  but  he  was  an 
inveterate  enemy  to  lying,  a  vice  to  whlcF  I  was  awfully  ad- 
dicted: he  also  possessed  the  qualification  of  commenting 
upon  a  fault,  till  1  could  scarcely  endure  his  reflections,  and 
sometimes  actually  transgressed  the  bounds  of  propriety.     A 


7 


MEMOIR   OF   DR.  CAREY. 


that  time  under  religious  impressions,  yet  frequently  engaged 
with  me  in  disputes  upon  religious  subjects,  in  which  my  mas- 
ter frequently  joined.  I  was  a  Churchman ;  had  read  Jeremy 
Taylor's  Sermons,  Spinker's  Sick  Man  Visited,  and  other 
books ;  and  had  always  looked  upon  Dissenters  with  contempt. 
I  had,  moreover,  a  share  of  pride,  sufficient  for  a  thousand 
times  my  knowledge ;  I  therefore  always  scorned  to  have  the 
worst  in  an  argument,  and  the  last  word  was  assuredly  mine. 
I  also  made  up  in  positive  assertion  what  was  wanting  in  ar- 
gument, and  generally  came  off  with  triumph.  But  I  was 
often  convinced  afterwards  that,  though  I  had  the  last  word, 
my  antagonist  had  the  better  of  the  argument,  and  on  that 
accoimt  felt  a  growing  uneasiness,  and  stings  of  conscience 
gradually  increasing.  The  frequent  comments  of  my  master 
upon  certain  parts  of  my  conduct,  and  other  such  causes,  in- 
creased my  uneasiness.  I  wanted  something,  but  had  no  idea 
that  nothing  but  an  entire  change  of  heart  could  do  me  good. 

'  There  was  a  place  of  worship,  and  a  small  body  of  Dis- 
senters in  the  village ;  but  I  never  attended  it,  and  thought 
myself  to  have  enmity  enough  in  my  heart  to  destroy  it.  As 
my  uneasiness  increased,  my  fellow-servant,  who  was  about 
this  time  brought  under  serious  concern  for  his  soul,  became 
more  importunate  with  me.  I  was  furnished  by  him  now  and 
then  with  a  religious  book,  and  my  opinions  insensibly  under- 
went a  change,  so  that  1  relished  evangelical  sentiments  more 
and  more,  and  my  inward  uneasiness  increased. 

'  Under  these  circumstances,  I  resolved  to  attend  regularly 
three  churches  in  the  day,  and  go  to  a  prayer-meeting  at  the 
Dissenting  place  of  worship  in  the  evening,  not  doubting  but 
this  would  produce  ease  of  mind,  and  make  me  acceptable  to 
God.  I  also  resolved  to  leave  off  lying,  swearing,  and  other 
sins  to  which  I  was  addicted,  and  sometimes  when  alone,  I 
tried  to  pray ;  but  was  at  present  unacquainted  with  the  wick- 
edness  of  my  heart,  and  the  necessity  of  a  Savior. 

'  A  circumstance,  which  I  always  reflect  on  with  a  mixture 
of  horror  and  gratitude,  occurred  about  this  time,  which,  though 
greatly  to  my  dishonor,  I  must  relate.  It  being  customary  in 
that  part  of  the  country,  for  apprentices  to  collect  christmas- 
boxes   from   the   tradesmen   with  whom  their  masters  have 


8  MEMOIR   OF    DR.  CAREY. 

dealings,  I  was  permitted  to  collect  these  little  sums.  When 
I  applied  to  an  ironmonger,  he  gave  me  the  choice  of  a 
shillmg  or  a  sixpence :  I  of  course  chose  the  shilling,  and  put- 
ting it  into  my  pocket,  went  away.  When  I  had  got  a  few 
shillings,  my  next  care  was  to  pmxhase  some  little  articles  for 
myself;  I  have  forgotten  what.  But  then,  to  my  sorrow,  I  found 
that  my  shilling  was  a  brass  one.  I  paid  for  the  things  which  I 
bought,  by  using  a  shilling  of  my  master's.  I  now  found  that 
I  had  exceeded  my  stock  by  a  few  pence.  I  expected  severe 
reproaches  from  my  master,  and  therefore  came  to  the  resolu- 
tion to  declare  strenuously  that  the  bad  money  was  his.  I 
well  remember  the  struggles  of  mind  which  I  had  on  this  oc- 
casion, and  that  I  made  this  deliberate  sin  a  matter  of  prayer 
to  God,  as  I  passed  over  the  fields  home.  I  there  promised, 
that  if  God  would  but  get  me  clearly  over  this,  or,  in  other 
words,  help  me  through  with  the  theft,  I  would  certainly  for 
the  future  leave  off  all  evil  practices ;  but  this  theft  and  con- 
sequent lying  appeared  to  me  so  necessary,  that  they  could 
not  be  dispensed  with. 

*  A  gracious  God  did  not  get  me  safe  through.  My  master 
sent  the  other  apprentice  to  investigate  the  matter.  The  iron- 
monger acknowledged  the  giving  me  the  shilling,  and  I  was 
therefore  exposed  to  shame,  reproach,  and  inward  remorse, 
which  increased  and  preyed  upon  my  mind  for  a  considerable 
time.  I  at  this  time  sought  the  Lord,  perhaps  much  more 
earnestly  than  ever,  but  with  shame  and  fear.  I  was  quite 
ashamed  to  go  out ;  and  never,  till  I  was  assured  that  my  con- 
duct was  not  spread  over  the  town,  did  I  attend  a  place  of 
worship. 

*I  trust,  that  under  these  circumstances,  I  was  led  to  see 
much  more  of  myself  than  I  had  ever  done  before,  and  to  seek 
for  mercy  with  greater  earnestness.  I  attended  prayer-meet- 
ings only,  however,  till  February  ]0,  1779,  which  being  ap- 
pointed a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  I  attended  worship  on  the 
day.  Mr.  Chater,  of  Olney,  preached,  but  from  what  text  I 
have  forgotten.  He  insisted  much  on  the  necessity  of  follow- 
ing Christ  entirely;  and  enforced  his  exhortation  with  that 
passage,  Heb.  xiii :  "  Let  us  therefore  go  out  unto  him  without 
the  camp,  bearing  his  reproach."  I  think  I  had  a  desire  to 
follow  Christ ;  but  an  idea  occurred  to  my  mind  upon  hearing 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  9 

those  words,  which  broke  me  oft*  from  the  Church  of  England. 
The  idea  was  certainly  very  crude,  but  useful  in  bringing  me 
from  attending  a  lifeless,  carnal  ministry,  to  one  more  evan- 
gelical. I  concliided  that  the  Church  of  England,  as  established 
by  law,  was  the  camp  in  which  all  were  protected  from  the 
scandal  of  the  cross,  and  that  [  ought  to  bear  the  reproach  of 
Christ  among  the  Dissenters  ;  and  accordingly  I  always  after- 
wards attended  divine  worship  among  them. 

'  In  a  village  near  that  in  which  I  lived,  were  a  number  of 
people  who  had  drank  deeply  into  the  opinions  of  Law,  and 
other  mystics.  I  had  heard  of  these  people,  but  knew  none 
of  them.  After  some  time,  and  after,  by  reading  some  few 
books,  I  had  formed  to  myself  what  I  thought  a  consistent 
creed,  one  of  these  persons,  the  clerk  of  that  parish,  sent  me 
word  that  he  wished  to  have  some  conversation  with  me  upon 
religious  subjects.  I  had  been  informed  that  he  was  a  great 
disputant,  and  violent  in  his  temper ;  but  I  at  that  time  thought 
every  thing  in  the  gospel  system,  as  I  had  received  it,  so  clear, 
that  I  had  no  hesitation  about  meeting  him ;  I  had  also  a  stock 
of  vanity,  which,  though  then  unperceived,  prompted  me  to 
dispute  with  any  one  who  would  dispute  with  me.  I  there- 
fore promised  to  meet  him.  At  the  appointed  time  a  heavy 
rain  prevented  our  meeting ;  but  this  only  made  me  the  more 
anxious  to  embrace  another  opportunity,  which  soon  occurred. 
In  about  six  hours'  warm  dispute  upon  various  subjects,  in 
which  he  frequently  addressed  me  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  in  a 
manner  to  which  I  had  been  unaccustomed,  and  controverted 
all  my  received  opinions,  which  I  still  think  were,  in  the  main, 
the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  I  was  affected  in  a  manner  which 
to  me  was  new.  He  proved  to  my  conviction,  that  my  con- 
duct was  not  such  as  became  the  gospel,  and  I  felt  ruined  and 
helpless.  I  could  neither  believe  his  system  of  doctrines,  nor 
defend  my  own.  The  conversation  filled  me  with  anxiety ; 
and  when  I  was  alone,  this  anxiety  increased.  I  was  by  these 
means,  I  trust,  brought  to  depend  on  a  crucified  Savior  for 
pardon  and  salvation ;  and  to  seek  a  system  of  doctrines  in 
the  word  of  God.  This  man  and  I  frequently  met,  and  he 
generally  left  with  me  some  of  Law's  writings,  or  something 
in  that  strain.  I  have  always  thought  that  this  man  was  really 
possessed  of  divine  grace,  and  still  think  so. 


10  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

'  Some  old  Christians  in  the  village  where  I  lived  had  fre- 
quently taken  me  by  the  hand,  and  communicated  their  ovv^n 
experience  and  feelings  to  me,  which  had  much  encouraged 
me.  But  after  I  had  conversed  with  this  man  once  or  twice, 
and  they  knew  that  I  read  books  which  he  lent  me,  all  began 
to  suspect  that  I  leaned  to  erroneous  opinions,  and  for  a  long 
time  said  but  little  to  me. 

*  The  minister  whose  preaching  I  attended  (Mr.  Luck)  was 
but  ill  qualified  to  relieve  my  spirit,  or  to  clear  up  my  doubts : 
I  therefore  sometimes  attended  at  Northampton ;  sometimes 
on  Mr.  Deacon,  at  Road ;  and  sometimes  on  Mr.  Scott,  at  Ra- 
venstone ;  but  was  always  in  an  inquisitive  and  unsatisfied 
state.  During  this  time,  the  people  at  Hackleton  formed 
themselves  into  a  church,  and  I  was  one  of  the  members  who 
joined  it  at  that  time ;  but  I  never  was  witness  to  the  ordi- 
nances being  administered  there,  except  the  sprinkling  of  an 
infant  by  Mr.  Horsey,  of  Northampton,  might  be  so  called. 
About  the  time  of  that  church  being  formed,  there  was  a  con- 
siderable awakening,  and  prayer-meetings  were  more  than 
ordinarily  attended.  A  sort  of  conference  was  also  begun,  and 
I  was  sometimes  invited  to  speak  my  thoughts  on  a  passage 
of  Scripture,  which  the  people,  being  ignorant,  sometimes 
applauded,  to  my  great  injury. 

'  When  1  had  been  apprenticed  about  two  years,  my  master 
died.  This  involved  me  in  some  pecuniary  difiiculties,  as  I 
purchased  the  remainder  of  my  time,  and  was  obliged  to  work 
for  lower  wages  than  usual,  on  account  of  my  imperfect 
knowledge  of  the  business.  This  occasioned  me  to  labor  very 
hard,  and  kept  me  very  poor.  Some  circumstances  relating  to 
my  temporal  concerns  are  so  impressed  on  my  mind,  and  the 
spiritual  experience  they  gave  rise  to  so  imprinted  on  my  soul, 
that  I  can  never  long  lose  sight  of  them ;  they  produce  in  me 
a  mixture  trembling  and  thankfulness.  I  thought  these  sea- 
sons very  painful  then ;  but  it  was  better  with  me  than  it  is 
now. 

'  One  circumstance  I  may  mention,  because  it  was  the  intro- 
duction to  others  which  I  must  not  pass  over.  Not  having  the 
circular  letter  to  refer  to,  I  cannot  say  in  what  year  it  was,  but 
you  will  recollect.  At  the  Association  at  Olney,  when  Mr. 
Guy  preached  from  '  Grow  in  grace,'  &c.,  and  you  in  the  eve- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  H 

ning,  the  very  first  time  that  I  heard  you,  from  *  Be  not  chil- 
dren in  understanding, '  I,  not  possessed  of  a  penny,  that  I 
recollect,  went  to  Olney.  I  fasted  all  day  because  I  could  not 
purchase  a  dinner ;  but,  towards  evening,  Mr.  Chater,  in  com- 
pany with  some  friends  from  Earl's  Barton,  saw  me,  and  asked 
me  to  go  with  them,  where  I  remember  1  got  a  glass  of  wine. 
These  people  had  been  supplied  once  a  fortnight  by  Messrs. 
Perry,  Chater  and  Raban,  in  rotation.  Mr.  C.  advised  them  to 
ask  me  to  preach  to  them  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  about  a 
fortnight  afterwards,  three  persons  came  to  ask  me  to  preach 
at  Barton.  I  cannot  tell  why  I  complied,  but  believe  it  was 
because  I  had  not  a  sufficient  degree  of  confidence  to  refuse  : 
this  has  occasioned  me  to  comply  with  many  things  which  I 
would  have  been  glady  excused  from.  I  went  to  Barton ;  and 
the  friends  asked  me  to  go  again.  Having  thus  begun,  I  con- 
tinued to  go  to  that  place  for  three  years  and  a  half  I  gener- 
ally went  on  the  Lord's-day  morning,  and  returned  at  night,  as 
the  distance  was  but  about  six  miles.  Soon  after  this  was 
known,  the  few  people  at  Paulerspury,  my  native  village,  ask- 
ed me  to  preach  to  them  once  a  month.  This  was  ten  miles ; 
but  as  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  my  parents,  I  went.  On 
this  occasion,  I  frequently  went  to  Towcester  in  the  day,  to 
attend  Mr.  Ready,  and  afterwards  Mr.  Skinner,  who  often  gave 
me  much  encouragement,  and  sometimes  asked  me  to  preach 
for  him. 

'  I  had  remained  in  the  state  of  uncertainty  and  anxiety  about 
gospel  doctrines  already  mentioned,  till  this  time ;  and  having 
so  slight  an  acquaintance  with  ministers,  I  was  obliged  to 
draw  all  from  the  Bible  alone.  Mr.  Skinner  one  day  made  me 
a  present  of  Mr.  Hall's*  Help  to  Zion's  Travellers;  in  which  I 
found  all  that  arranged  and  illustrated  which  I  had  been  so 
long  picking  up  by  scraps.  I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have 
read  any  book  with  such  raptures  as  I  did  that.  If  it  was  poi- 
son, as  some  then  said,  it  was  so  sweet  to  me  that  I  drank  it 
greedily  to  the  bottom  of  the  cup ;  and  I  rejoice  to  say,  that 
those  doctrines  are  the  choice  of  my  heart  to  this  day. 

'  A  sermon  preached  by  Mr.  Horsey,  of  Northampton,  at  the 
rhantism  of  an  infant,  and  some  conversation  with  Mr.  Hunne, 

*  The  father  of  the  celebrated  Robert  Hall. 


i^ 


/ 


12  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

then  on  probation  at  Road,  had  drawn  my  mind  to  the  subject 
of  baptism ;  but  I  do  not  recollect  having  read  any  thuig  on 
the  subject  till  I  applied  to  Mr.  Ryland,  Sen.,  to  baptize  me : 
he  lent  me  a  pamphlet,  and  turned  me  over  to  his  son,  who, 
after  some  time,  baptized  me  at  Northampton. 

'  The  people  at  Barton  had  a  great  wish  to  embody  them- 
selves as  a  church,  and  wished  me  to  settle  with  them ;  and 
Mr.  Sutcliff  was  invited  to  give  them  his  advice,  and  preach  a 
sermon  on  the  occasion.  I  staid  to  hear  him ;  and  he  then 
discoursed  with  me  very  affectionately  upon  the  propriety  of 
joining  some  respectable  church,  and  being  appointed  to  the 
ministry  in  a  more  regular  way.  I  saw  the  propriety  of  what 
he  said  ;  but  having  no  acquaintance  with  any  church  in  par- 
ticular, I  at  last  concluded  to  offer  myself  to  that  at  Olney. 
This  I  did,  and  was  received ;  and,  what  I  still  wonder  at,  was 
appointed  to  the  ministry.  I  perfectly  recollect  that  the  ser- 
mon which  1  preached  before  the  church,  and  on  hearing  of 
which  they  sent  me  out,  was  as  weak  and  crude  as  any  thing 
could  be,  which  is  or  has  been  called  a  sermon. 

'  Soon  after  this  a  number  of  circumstances,  which  it  would 
be  tiresome  to  read,  and-  which  may  be  better  known  on  the 
spot,  removed  me  to  Moulton.  From  that  time  I  became  more 
known  to  the  ministers,  so  that  any  further  enlargement  is 
unnecessary.  The  causes  of  my  removal  from  that  place  to 
Leicester,  and  fi-om  that  place  to  India,  are  known  to  you.  I 
may  only  obsei-ve,  that  reading  Cook's  voyages  was  the  first 
thing  that  engaged  my  mind  to  think  of  missions. 

'  A  few  reflections  on  the  above  shall  conclude  this  account. 

'1.  It  is  still  to  me  a  matter  of  thankfulness  that  I  had  so 
general  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible  when  I  was  a  child.  By 
that  means,  my  mind  was  furnished  with  a  body  of  subjects, 
which,  after  I  had  more  acquaintance  with  evangelical  truth, 
were  ready  upon  every  occasion,  and  were  often  influential 
upon  my  heart  when  I  had  but  little  leisure  to  read.  To  this 
the  constant  reading  of  parts  of  Scripture  in  the  chm*ch  con- 
tributed not  a  little,  and,  perhaps,  the  reading  of  the  Bible 
when  at  school  still  more. 

'2.  If  I  am  a  converted  person,  of  which  I  have  great  rea- 
son to  doubt,  I  must  say  that  it  is  entirely  by  the  grace  of 
God,  and  in  full  opposition  to  the  natural  bias  of  my  mind. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  13 

I  practised  falsehood,  and,  even  after  I  was  under  concern, 
attempted  to  make  the  great  God  a  party  in  a  scene  of  dislion- 
esty  and  lying.  Yet  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  greatest 
change  which  ever  took  place  in  me  was  about  that  time, — a 
time  in  which  I  had  evidently  gone  to  a  greater  length  in  sin 
than  ever  before. 

'3.  I  am  convinced  that  some  sins  have  always  attended  me, 
as  if  they  made  a  part  of  my  constitution :  among  these  I 
reckon  pride,  or  rather  vanity, — an  evil  which  I  have  detected 
frequently,  but  have  never  been  free  from  to  this  day.  Indo- 
lence in  divine  things  is  constitutional :  few  people  can  think 
what  necessity  I  am  constantly  under  of  summoning  all  my 
resolution  to  engage  in  any  thing  which  God  has  commanded. 
This  makes  me  peculiarly  unfit  for  the  ministry  and  much 
more  so  for  the  office  of  a  missionary.  I  now  doubt  seriously, 
whether  persons  of  such  a  constitution  should  be  engaged  in 
the  Christian  ministry.  This,  and  what  1  am  going  to  mention, 
fill  me  with  continued  guilt.  A  want  of  character  and  firmness 
has  always  predominated  in  me.  I  have  not  resolution  enough 
to  reprove  sin,  to  introduce  serious  and  evangelical  conversa- 
tion in  carnal  company,  especially  among  the  great,  to  whom 
I  have  sometimes  access.  I  sometimes  labor  with  myself  long, 
and  at  last  cannot  prevail  sufficiently  to  break  silence  ;  or,  if  I 
introduce  a  subject,  want  resolution  to  keep  it  up,  if  the  com- 
pany do  not  show  a  readiness  thereto. 

'4.  The  proofs  I  have  of  the  evil  tendency  of  my  heart,  and 
my  frequent  and  often  reiterated  falls  into  sin,  convince  me 
that  I  need  the  constant  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  that, 
if  God  did  not  continue  his  loving-kindness  to  me,  I  should  as 
certaiidy  depart  from  Him,  and  become  an  open  profligate,  as  I 
exist.  I  see  that  there  is  no  temptation  but  would  be  sufficient 
to  destroy  me,  if  God  did  not  interfere ;  and  that  I  as  much 
need  pardon,  and  divine  influence  to  support  me,  and  maintain 
the  work  in  my  heart,  as  I  formerly  did  to  convert  me.  If  I 
ever  get  to  heaven,  it  must  be  owing  to  divine  grace,  from  first 
to  last. 

'I  have  now  only  to  desire  of  you  that  the  above  may  not 
be  published ;  though  I  have  no  objection  to  your  publishing 
any  parts  thereof,  provided  you  so  conceal  names  and  other  al- 
lusions, as  that  it  may  never  be  known  that  it  is  an  account  of 
3 


14  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

me.  Every  publication  of  this  kind,  if  the  author  be  known, 
makes  hini  more  pubhc  ;  and,  as  it  is  very  uncertain  whether  I 
shall  not  dishonor  the  gospel  before  I  die,  so  as  to  bring  a 
public  scandal  thereupon,  the  less  is  said  about  me  the  better.' 
It  may  occur  to  some  who  read  these  pages,  that  so  bare  and 
rii-r.Ted  a  representation  of  his  juvenile  conduct  should  either 
have  been  spared  from  the  record,  or  accompanied  with  some 
qualifying  statements.  Had  it  been  so,  I  am  aware  it  would 
have  rendered  it  less  revolting  to  the  taste  of  many,  and  have 
gratified  the  feelings  of  some  whom  I  affectionately  esteem, 
and  to  whose  judgment  I  could  have  wished  to  defer.  But,  in 
committing  this  document  to  the  press,  I  neither  felt  at  liberty 
to  withhold  any  part  of  it,  nor  so  to  remodel  and  disguise  it,  as 
that,  though  it  might  have  accorded  better  with  general  taste 
and  the  frequent  usage  of  biographical  writing,  would  yet  de- 
stroy its  identity.  More  harm  is  often  done  in  morals,  by  that 
squeamish  sensibility,  felt  or  feared,  which  leads  to  the  exhibi- 
tion of  vice  under  thin  and  flimsy  veils,  than  is  likely  to  follow 
from  showing  it  forth  in  its  coarse  and  naked  deformity.  Both 
painters  and  biographers  should  portray  and  describe  faithful- 
ly, or  resign  their  office.  But  they  are  sometimes  painfully 
anxious  to  make  their  subject  and  their  hero  perfect.  We 
wish  a  career  to  bo  brilliant  throughout,  first  and  last,  a 
character  altogether  consistent  and  homogeneous ;  and  are 
impatient  of  anomalies  and  incongruities,  which  yet  are  inces- 
santly occurrmg  in  the  intellectual  and  moral  world.  Hence, 
the  delicacy  with  which  any  adverse  disposition,  or  militant 
principle,  will  be  touched ;  and  the  pains  sometimes  taken  to 
invest  a  positive  delinquency  with  something  of  a  romantic 
air,  beguiling  the  unwary  heart  of  the  careless  reader  into  a 
partial  tolerance  of  evil,  because  it  happens  to  be  in  associa- 
tion with  one  destined  to  ultimate  distinction.  Hence,  too,  the 
singular  avidity  with  which  every  thing  is  seized  up  and  re- 
ported upon,  which  may  seem  to  be  a  scintillation  from  a 
promising  intelligence  ;  though  perhaps  the  question  asked,  or 
the  sentence  uttered,  may  possess  but  httle  not  to  be  met  with 
in  the  sayings  of  ten  thousand  others.  It  is  readily  conceded 
that,  if  the  literal  faithfulness  which  Mr.  Carey  has  observed  in 
describing  his  early  character  and  youthful  conduct,  were  to 
be  an  indispensable  law  to  all  who  undertake  a  similar  office 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  15 

for  themselves,  there  would  be  found  but  one  here  and  there, 
who  would  consent  to  '  write  memoirs  of  himself.' 

The  following  account  of  him*  is  from  an  endeared  sister, 
who  yet  survives  him.  I  am  not  aware  that  much  will  be 
found  in  the  composition  requiring  apology.  But  were  it  oth- 
erwise, the  benevolent  reader  would  readily  find  it,  when 
informed  of  her  singularly  afflicted  condition.  She  has  been 
confined  to  her  chamber,  without  the  exception  of  a  day,  for 
these  forty  years:  nearly  the  whole  of  that  period  she  has 
been  speechless,  and  the  hand  with  which  she  writes  is  the 
only  limb  she  can  use. 

'  You  wished  me  to  give  you  some  account  of  my  brother 
William's  childhood  and  youth.  I  shall  gladly  comply  with 
your  request,  though  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  recollect 
any  thing  that  will  be  interesting  to  you  or  the  public ;  and 
perhaps  my  brother  might  be  hurt  to  see  any  account  respect- 
ing himself  made  public  while  he  lives.  However,  I  will  try 
to  comply  with  your  request,  and  leave  it  to  your  prudence  to 
make  what  use  of  it  you  please. 

'My  brother  was  born  August  17,  1761,  at  Paulerspury,  a 
village  in  Northamptonshire.  His  parents,  Edmund  and  Eliz- 
abeth Gary,  had  five  children, — William,  Ann,  Mary,  Thomas 
and  Elizabeth.  Elizabeth  died  in  infancy.  Our  grandfather, 
Mr.  Peter  Carey,  kept  a  free-school  in  the  same  place.  I  be- 
lieve the  free-school  was  built  for  him,  with  some  money  that 
was  found  and  appropriated  to  that  use :  the  house  was  after- 
wards built  for  him.  He  had  likewise  five  children, — William, 
Peter,  Edmund,  Thomas  and  Ann :  the  two  last  died  in  child- 
hood. William,  the  eldest,  was  a  young  man  of  very  promis- 
ing abilities,  settled  in  a  school  at  Towcester,  a  small  market- 
town  about  three  miles  from  Puiy.  His  prospects  appeared 
flattering ;  but  v/hen  about  twenty-one  or  twenty-two,  he  was 
cut  oflT  by  death,  after  a  few  days'  illness.  Thus  were  the 
fond  hopes  of  his  indulgent  parents  blasted.  This  stroke  had 
such  an  effect  on  his  father,  that  he  never  got  over  it ;  and,  in 
about  a  fortnight  after,  he  was  removed  by  death  also.  By 
these  strokes,  his  wife,  a  woman  of  remarkable  tenderness,  and 
of  a  very  delicate  constitution,  was  deprived  of  her  son  and 

*  Addressed  to  Mr.  Dyer. 


16 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 


her  husband,  and  soon  after,  her  home,  as  she  had  no  child 
then  capable  of  supplying  the  father's  place.  Her  second  son, 
Peter,  at  that  time  quite  a  youth,  was  gone  out  of  the  land 
with  a  neighboring  gentleman  ;  and,  at  that  time,  I  believe  his 
mother  was  uncertain  whether  he  was  in  the  land  of  the  liv- 
ing. My  father  was  only  seven  years  old  at  tiie  time  of  his 
lather's  death.  He  was  afterwards  put  apprentice  by  his 
mother  in  the  same  village ;  and  I  have  often  heard  him  speak 
of  the  pleasure  he  took  in  spending  his  leisure  hours  in  atten- 
tion to  his  mother.  She  was  a  person  of  a  very  delicate  habit 
of  body;  but  her  calm  and  even  disposition,  and,  I  hope,  her 
patient  resignation  to  the  divine  will,  enabled  her  to  bear  up 
under  all  her  troubles  with  Christian  fortitude.  After  her  son's 
marriage  she  lived  with  him  till  some  time  after  the  bu*th  of 
his  two  first  children,  whom  she  called  William  and  Ann, 
after  her  own.  Thus,  like  Naomi,  she  nursed  them  in  her  own 
bosom,  and  seemed  to  think  the  Lord  had  dealt  bountifully 
with  her  in  her  captivity.  I  have  often  heard  my  mother 
mention  her  with  great  tenderness.  Had  she  been  spared  a 
little  longer,  she  might  have  been  restored  to  her  former  home 
again.  The  person  that  occupied  the  school  after  the  death  of 
her  husband,  was  suddenly  removed  by  death.  My  father  was 
then  judged  a  proper  person  to  succeed  him;  which  he  did, 
when  his  son  William  was  in  his  sixth  year.  At  that  early 
period  he  discovered  a  great  aptness  for  learning.  I  have  often 
heard  my  mother  speak  of  one  circumstance  she  had  remarked 
with  pleasm-e  in  him,  even  before  he  was  six  years  old.  She 
has  heard  him  m  the  night,  when  the  family  were  asleep, 
casting  accounts ;  so  intent  was  he  from  childhood  in  the  pursuit 
of  knowledge.  Whatever  he  began  he  finished :  difficulties 
never  seemed  to  discourage  his  mind ;  and,  as  he  grew  up,  his 
thirst  for  knowledge  still  increased.  The  room  that  was 
wholly  appropriated  to  his  use  was  full  of  insects,  stuck  in 
every  corner,  that  he  might  observe  their  progress.  Drawing 
and  painting  he  was  very  fond  of,  and  made  considerable  pro- 
gress in  those  arts,  all  acquired  by  himself  Birds,  and  all 
manner  of  insects,  he  had  numbers  of.  When  he  was  from 
home,  the  birds  were  in  general  committed  to  my  care.  Being 
so  much  younger,  I  was  indulged  by  him  in  all  his  enjoyments. 
Though  I  oflen  used  to  kill  his  birds  by  kindness,  yet,  when 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  17 

he  saw  my  grief  for  it,  he  always  indulged  me  with  the  pleas- 
ure of  serving  them  again ;  and  often  took  me  over  the  dirtiest 
roads  to  get  at  a  plant  or  an  insect.  He  never  v/alked  out,  I 
think,  when  quite  a  boy,  without  observation  on  the  hedges  as 
he  passed ;  and  wdien  he  took  up  a  plant  of  any  kind,  he  always 
observed  it  with  care.  Though  I  was  but  a  child,  I  well  re- 
member his  pursuits.  He  always  seemed  earnest  in  his 
recreations,  as  well  as  in  school.  Like  the  industrious  bee,  he 
was  always  gathering  something  useful.  It  seemed  as  if  na- 
ture was  fitting  him  for  something  great, — from  a  child  forming 
him  for  future  usefulness ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  was 
generally  one  of  the  most  active  in  all  the  amusements  and 
recreations  that  boys  in  general  pursue.  He  was  always 
beloved  by  the  boys  about  his  own  age.  Though  his  manners 
were  rather  awkward,  and  there  was  nothing  in  his  person 
prepossessing  to  a  superficial  observer,  yet  the  more  intelli- 
gent could  discover  marks  indicating  greatness  of  mind  and 
genius,  even  from  childhood.  An  intelligent  neighbor  of  ours 
used  often  to  say,  he  was  sure,  if  he  lived  to  be  ever  so  old,  he 
would  always  be  a  learner,  and  in  pursuit  of  something  fuj-- 
ther.  This  remark  has  hitherto  been  verified.  At  the  time 
brother  lived  at  Leicester,  a  gentleman  in  our  neighborhood  was 
making  particular  inquiry  of  me  about  him.  He  seemed  to  think 
it  a  lamentable  thing  that  he  was  a  Dissenter.  Never  a  youth 
promised  fairer,  he  said,  to  make  a  great  man,  had  he  not 
turned  a  cushion-thumper.  His  natural  fondness  for  a  garden 
w  as  cherished,  I  think,  by  his  uncle,  Mr.  Peter  Gary,  who  was 
then  settled  in  the  same  village,  and  at  times,  when  able,  fol- 
lowed that  occupation,  and  often  had  his  nephew  with  him, 
not  having  any  child  of  his  own.  While  brother  continued  at 
home,  he  seldom  left  any  part  of  his  father's  garden  unculti- 
vated, he  was  so  fond  of  flowers. 

'  While  brother  Carey  was  a  boy,  he  was  much  afflicted  with 
a  scorbutic  disorder  in  his  face  and  hands.  When  he  had 
been  exjDosed  to  the  sun  in  the  day, he  was  in  distressing  agony 
thi-ough  the  night.  On  that  account  he  never  could  work  in 
the  field,  or  do  any  thing  that  exposed  him  long  to  the  heat  of 
the  day.  Nothmg  seemed  to  relieve  this  complaint  for  a  long 
while.  This  induced  our  parents  to  put  him  to  some  trade. 
He  accordingly  was  put  apprentice  to  a  cordwainer  at  Pid- 
3# 


IS  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

diiigton,  a  respectable  person,  when  he  was  in  his  sixteenth 
j^ear.  We  were  brought  up  to  the  Estabhshment ;  and  brother 
Carey  was  ratlier  prejudiced  against  Dissenters,  though  never 
permitted  to  discover  his  dislike  to  them ;  for  though  my  fa- 
ther's situation  in  the  school  was  connected  with  the  clerk's 
place,  as  many  others  were  at  that  time,  yet  father  was  always 
a  lover  of  those  he  thought  good  people,  and  a  gi-eat  reader. 
He  was  particular,  in  his  example  as  well  as  precepts,  to  incul- 
cate the  strictest  habits  of  integrity  and  uprightness,  in  words 
and  actions,  before  his  childi-eu ;  and  the  person  my  brother 
was  placed  with  was  of  the  same  disposition.  He  had  an 
older  apprentice,  who  was  brought  up  a  Dissenter,  and  I  be- 
lieve was,  about  that  time,  under  serious  impressions.  It  was 
in  disputes  with  this  yomig  man  that  brother  first  discovered 
he  was  wrong ;  yet  he  would  not  give  up  his  argument,  or  own 
he  was  vanquished,  for  some  time :  he  was  such  a  strenuous 
advocate  for  his  church,  it  was  mortifying  to  yield  till  he  could 
no  longer  resist.  He  had  before  been  rather  inclined  to  be 
gay,  which  gave  his  parents,  as  well  as  his  master,  some  little 
uneasiness ;  but  the  conduct,  together  with  the  powerful  argu- 
ments, of  his  young  friend,  connected  with  some  other  trifluig 
cu'cumstances,  made  an  impression  on  his  mind,  which  was 
soon  after  much  strengthened  by  the  death  of  his  master,  after 
a  short  illness.  The  master,  before  his  death,  I  believe,  felt 
his  need  of  a  Savior,  and  exhorted  those  about  him  to  flee  to 
Jesus  as  the  smner's  friend ;  though  before,  he  was  a  person  of 
strict  morality ;  he  was  whole,  and  felt  no  need  of  a  jDhysician, 
I  believe,  till  his  last  illness. 

'  At  the  time  of  his  master's  death,  brother  was  not  master 
of  his  business,  and  was  then  put  to  a  Mr.  Old,  of  Hackleton, 
who  agreed  to  pay  his  former  master's  widow  so  much  for  his 
time.  This  was  not  a  necessaiy  step,  as  the  apprentice  is  free 
on  the  death  of  his  master ;  but  his  father  felt  so  much  for  the 
widow's  loss,  that  he  inclined  to  the  side  of  mercy  rather  than 
add  to  her  distress.  After  he  had  been  some  little  time  with 
Mr.  Old,  he  also  was  removed  by  death,  I  believe  before  the 
time  of  my  brother's  apprenticeship  Avas  expu-ed.  At  that 
time  he  had  formed  a  connexion  with  a  young  person,  sister 
to  Mrs.  Old,  whom  he  married  soon  after  or  before  he  was 
twenty. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  19 

'After  Mr.  Old's  death  he  took  the  stock  and  busmess. 
Trade  at  that  time  bebag  very  good,  his  prospects  seemed 
promising,  but  soon  after  failed.  A  large  order  Mr.  Old  had 
engaged  to  supply  was  retm-ned  on  my  brother's  hands,  just 
after  it  was  executed,  so  that  he  felt  considerable  embarrass- 
ment from  it,  and  was  obliged  to  dispose  of  the  goods  to  great 
disadvantage. 

'  At  this  time  he  was  increasingly  thoughtful,  and  very  jealous 
for  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  Like  Gideon,  he  seemed  for  thi-owing 
down  all  the  altars  of  Baal  in  one  night.  When  he  came 
home,  we  used  to  wonder  at  the  change.  We  knew  that  before 
he  was  rather  inclined  to  persecute  the  faith  he  now  seemed 
to  wish  to  propagate.  At  first,  perhaps,  his  zeal  exceeded  the 
bounds  of  prudence ;  but  he  felt  the  importance  of  things  we 
were  strangers  to,  and  his  natural  disposition  was  to  pm'sue 
earnestly  what  he  undertook ;  so  that  it  was  not  much  to  be 
wondered  at,  though  we  wondered  at  the  change.  He  stood 
alone  in  his  father's  house  for  some  years.  After  a  tune  he 
asked  permission  to  have  family  prayer  when  he  came  home 
to  see  us ;  a  favor  which  he  very  readily  had  granted.  Often 
liave  I  felt  my  pride  rise  while  he  was  engaged  in  prayer,  at 
the  mention  of  those  words  in  Isaiah,  '  that  all  our  righteous- 
ness was  like  filthy  rags.'  I  did  not  think  he  thought  his  so, 
but  looked  on  me  and  the  family  as  filthy,  not  hmiself  and  his 
party.  Oh,  what  pride  is  in  the  hmnan  heart !  Nothing  but 
my  love  to  my  brother  would  have  kept  me  fi'om  showing  my 
resentment;  but  I  could  not  bear  that  others  should  think 
dimmutively  of  him ;  so  kept  it  to  myself  My  attachment  to 
him  was  great,  and,  as  brothers  and  sisters,  I  trust  it  was  firm 
and  unshaken,  and  ever  will  remain  so.  We  always  felt  each 
other's  joys  and  sorrows  our  own,  so  far  as  we  loiew  them.  O 
that  an  eternity  may  be  spent  in  happy  union  with  each  other, 
where  nothing  exists  to  deplore ! 

'About  this  time  a  few  of  the  friends  of  religion  wished  our 
brother  to  exercise  his  gifts,  by  speaking  to  a  few  friends  in  a 
-  house  licensed  at  Pury  ;  which  he  did  with  great  acceptance. 
The  next  morning  a  neighbor  of  ours,  a  very  pious  woman, 
came  in  to  congratulate  my  mother  on  the  occasion,  and  to 
speak  of  the  Lord's  goodness  in  calling  her  son,  and  my  broth- 
er, two  such  near  neighbors,  to  the  same  noble  calling.    My 


20  MEMOIR   OF    DR.  CARET. 

mother  replied,  'What,  do  you  think  he  will  be  a  preacher  ?' 
'Yes,'  she  replied,  'and  a  great  one,  I  think,  if  spared.' 
From  that  time  till  he  was  settled  at  Moulton,  he  regularly 
preached  once  a  month  at  Pury,  with  much  acceptance.  He 
was  at  that  time  in  his  twentieth  year,  and  married. 

'Our  parents  were  always  friendly  to  rehgion;  yet,  on  some 
accounts,  we  should  rather  have  wished  him  to  go  from  home, 
than  come  home  to  preach.  1  do  not  think  I  ever  heard  him, 
though  my  younger  brother  and  my  sister,  I  think,  generally 
did.  Our  father  much  wished  to  hear  his  son,  if  he  could  do 
it  unseen  by  him  or  any  one.  It  was  not  long  before  an  oppor- 
tunity offered,  and  he  embraced  it.  Though  he  was  a  man 
that  never  discovered  any  partiality  for  the  abilities  of  his 
childi-en,  but  rather  sometimes  went  too  far  on  the  other  hand, 
that  often  tended  a  little  to  discourage  them,  yet  we  were 
convinced  that  he  approved  of  what  he  heard,  and  was  highly 
gratified  by  it. 

'  After  our  brother's  marriage,  I  think  he  first  settled  in  a 
small  neat  house  at  Hackleton.  Here  he  soon  cultivated  a 
neat  garden.  His  first  child  was  born  there,  a  fine  girl,  named 
Ann.  She  died  of  a  fever,  in  her  second  year.  My  brother  at 
the  time  was  in  great  danger  fi*om  the  same  disorder.  He 
sent  over  for  his  mother :  but  the  Lord  mercifully  spared  his 
life,  though  his  child  was  taken  away.  My  mother  observed 
at  that  time,  that  they  seemed  much  distressed  in  circumstan- 
ces. We  knew  of  his  diflficulties  respecting  his  business  after 
Mr.  Old's  death  ;  but  he  studiously  kept  every  thing  he  could 
from  us,  not  to  grieve  us.  After  the  fever  was  removed,  an 
ague  followed,  and  for  more  than  a  year  and  a  half,  I  think, 
never  could  be  removed.  Often  has  he  travelled  from  place 
to  place,  to  dispose  of  his  stock,  with  the  greatest  diflficulty, 
from  the  affliction.  At  this  time,  his  brother, — then  quite  a 
youth, — had  so  great  concern  for  him,  that  he  saved  out  of  his 
own  earnings,  and  other  little  trifles  he  had  for  his  own  pro- 
perty, keeping  it  together  till  it  was  a  considerable  sum ;  he 
then  presented  it  to  his  brother,  who  received  it  with  emotions 
of  tenderness  and  gratitude.  The  kindness  was  felt  very  ten- 
derly, when  he  considered  the  age  of  his  brother,  and  the 
small  privations  he  had  felt  on  his  account.  This  trifle,  with  a 
small  collection  made  by  some  of  his  friends  at  Pury,  afforded 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  21 

our  dear  brother  a  seasonable  relief  at  the  time.  We  often 
had  him  home  for  change  of  air,  but  nothing  removed  the 
ague  for  long,  till  he  left  Piddington  for  Moulton.  He  had  left 
Hackleton,  and  resided  at  Piddington  at  the  time  of  the  child's 
death :  there  he  also  cultivated  a  garden ;  and  near  the  garden, 
which  he  seldom  failed  to  occupy  early  and  late,  was  a  marshy 
piece  of  ground,  and  a  fog  arose  often  from  the  damp.  This 
he  thought  was  one  cause  why  the  ague  never  wholly  left  him 
till  he  removed  to  Moulton,  to  a  drier  soil.  The  ague  was  the 
cause  of  his  hair  coming  off,  which  never  grew  again.  It  was 
likewise  attended  by  a  very  affecting  cough,  that  never  wholly 
left  him  in  England.  It  always  affected  him  more  or  less  in 
the  winter.  The  scorbutic  disorder  he  had  when  a  boy,  he 
always  felt  while  in  England,  if  he  was  for  a  short  time  ex- 
posed to  the  sun.  Yet  he  has  remarked,  that  the  hottest  day 
in  Lidia  never  affected  him ;  till  in  one  letter,  of  so  late  a  date 
as  1810,  he  said  that  he  had  felt  a  little  alarmed  of  late,  at 
findmg  some  return  of  his  old  disorder,  after  it  had  lain  dor- 
mant for  nearly  thirty  years.  It  was  not,  however,  he  said,  so 
as  to  occasion  much  pain ;  and  having  recourse  to  a  medicine, 
much  used  in  India  in  similar  diseases,  he  had  no  doubt  but  it 
would  prove  effectual  through  a  divine  blessing.  He  adds, 
'  The  medicine  is  nitric  acid,  perhaps  better  known  to  you  by 
the  common  name  of  aqua  fortis,  I  take  eighteen  or  twenty 
di-ops  twice  a  day,  diluted  in  water,  and  wash  my  hands  in  the 
same  :  the  effects  are  astonishing.' 

'Thus  we  may  observe  much  of  the  goodness  of  Jehovah, 
not  only  in  forming  his  mind,  even  fi'om  childliood,  for  the 
great  work  he  had  to  accomplish  by  him,  but  even  in  the  tem- 
perature of  his  bodily  constitution  and  natural  disposition. 
Difficulties  to  him  never  appeared  insurmountable :  from  child-1 
hood  always  earnest  in  all  his  pursuits,  whether  recreation  or! 
learning,  perseverance  was  a  leading  featm-e  in  his  character. 

'  I  believe  it  was  not  till  the  whiter  before  he  left  Piddington 
for  Moulton,  that  he  had  any  ground  for  hope  that  the  Lord 
had  answered  prayer  respecting  his  relations.  During  that 
winter  the  Lord  first  began  to  work  on  the  mind  of  my  sister 
and  some  others  of  our  acquaintance.  At  the  autumn,  Mr. 
Scott,  then  of  Olney,  was  invited  to  preach  at  Pury ;  his  being 
a  church  minister,  and  the  novelty  of  the  place  he  preached  in^ 


22  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

induced  me  and  most  in  the  village  to  hear  him.  The  text  was 
alarming:  'Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish.' 
The  efFects  never  quite  left  me ;  and,  in  the  winter,  our  family 
was  visited  by  a  fever,  which  left  an  alarmhig  effect  on  the 
spuits.  My  sister  had  such  a  flow  of  spirits  as  hurt  her  very 
much,  while  I  had  as  great  a  depression.  My  brother,  observ- 
ing it,  said,  with  some  emotion,  '  Sister,  read  your  Bible.'  I 
did  not  feel  inclined  to  follow  his  advice,  because  I  had  often 
read  the  Bible  before,  but  found  no  beauty  in  it.  However,  I 
felt  secretly  inclined  to  follow  his  advice,  and  began  with  a 
determination  to  pursue  with  diligence.  I  found  no  relief  till 
I  got  to  the  thirty-first  chapter  of  Jeremiah,  those  words, 
'  There  is  hope  in  thy  end.'  From  that  time  his  God  enabled 
him  to  see  that  he  was  a  prayer-hearing  and  answering  God, 
though  he  long  called  him  to  wait.  He  often  spoke  afterwards - 
of  what  he  used  to  feel  when  he  came  home  and  saw  us  so 
insensible  of  our  danger,  yet  seldom  could  summon  courage 
enough  to  speak  on  the  subject  of  religion  to  his  dearest 
fi-iends.  For  me,  in  particular,  he  felt,  because  he  often  saw 
me  reduced  apparently  to  the  borders  of  the  grave,  quite  in- 
sensible of  the  hand  which  brought  dovm  and  raised  up  again. 
Often  did  we  obsei^ve  the  emotions  of  his  mind ;  but  did  not 
thmk  his  concern  at  all  necessary.  O  what  a  privilege  to  have 
praying  relations ;  and  what  a  mercy  to  have  a  God  that  waits 
to  be  gi-acious ! 

'  At  the  time  my  brother  went  to  Moulton  there  was  a  pros- 
pect of  a  good  school,  though  that  was  soon  blasted  by  the 
return  of  the  former  schoolmaster.' 

There  might  be  another  reason  why  his  school  succeeded  so 
ill.  He  probably  had  much  less  faculty  for  teaching  than  for 
acquiring.  And  then  he  could  never  assume  the  carriage,  nor 
utter  the  tones,  nor  wield  the  sceptre  of  a  schoolmaster.  He 
would  frequently  smile  at  his  incompetency  in  these  respects ; 
and  used  to  say,  facetiously,  '  When  I  kept  school,  the  boys 
kept  me.' 

'  The  people  being  poor,  could  not  support  a  minister  com- 
fortably ;  but  brother  had  the  satisfaction  to  know  it  was  not 
for  want  of  a  willing  mind,  but  for  want  of  ability.  This 
made  him  cheerfully  submit  to  any  privation,  rather  than  dis- 
cover it  to  grieve  them.     But  as  his  family  increased,  we  were 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  23 

witnesses  of  the  difficulties  they  often  feh.  Yet,  under  all,  he 
steadily  persevered  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  making  con- 
siderable progress  in  the  study  of  Greek.  Here  also,  with  the 
help  of  his  friends,  he  cultivated  a  neat  garden,  by  removing 
the  rubbish  of  an  old  barn.  It  is  a  little  remarkable  that,  as 
soon  as  my  brother  had  got  a  garden  into  a  state  of  cultivation, 
he  was  generally  called  to  leave  it.  This,  to  one  so  fond  of  it, 
must  have  been  a  little  self-denial ;  yet,  to  a  mind  like  his,  no 
doubt,  it  was  a  lesson  of  some  importance,  and  led  him  more 
to  see  that  this  is  not  om-  rest,  that  sin  has  polluted  all  our 
enjoyments. 

'  At  Moulton  he  had  three  sons, — Felix,  William,  and  Peter. 
Peter  died  at  Mudnabatty,  in  the  East  Indies. 

'  From  Moulton  he  removed  to  Leicester  with  his  family. 
Wliether  he  had  a  new  garden  there  to  cultivate,  I  never  heard. 
At  Leicester  he  had  some  difficulties  to  encounter  from  the 
state  in  which  the  church  was  at  that  time.  Mr.  Sutcliff  said 
once  to  us,  that  the  difficulties  he  met  there  would  have  dis- 
couraged the  spirits  of  almost  any  man  besides  hiin ;  but  he 
set  his  shoulder  to  the  work,  and  steadily  persevered  till  it  was 
accomplished,  and  soon  had  the  pleasure  to  reap  the  fruits  of 
his  steady  perseverance.  While  he  continued  at  Leicester,  he 
was  blessed  with  another  daughter,  named  Lucy :  this  child  also 
died  m  its  second  year.  This  was  a  painful  stroke  both  to 
parents  and  chikh-en ;  they  all  seemed  so  fond  of  her.  He 
used  to  mention  the  death  of  this  child  in  every  letter  for  some 
time,  yet  with  a  degree  of  resignation  and  submission  to  the 
divine  will.  We  were  convinced,  however,  that  he  was  touch- 
ed in  a  tender  point. 

'  Just  before  he  left  Leicester,  brother  Carey  went  into  York- 
shire to  take  his  last  farewell  of  his  only  and  beloved  brother 
and  family.  Brother  Thomas  had  then  three  sons, — Peter, 
named  after  our  uncle  ;  Edmund,  called  after  our  dear  father ; 
and  Eustace,  then  only  two  years  old.  Little  did  we  think  he 
was  to  follow  his  dear  uncle  on  the  same  delightfid  errand. 
How  good  is  God !  What  am  I,  and  what  is  my  father's  house, 
that  such  favors  are  shown  to  us !  and  that  so  many  so  dear 
to  us  should  be  devoted  to  the  work  of  so  good  a  Master ! 

*  In  that  visit  our  dear  brother  had  the  pleasure  of  witness- 
ing the  exertions  of  the  friends  of  religion  in  Yorkshke,  in 


24  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

raising  a  good  collection  for  the  cause  his  heart  was  so  fully 
bent  upon.  At  that  time  also  he  met  with  dear  brother  Ward, 
and  said,  '  If  we  go  to  India,  and  succeed  in  our  work,  of  which 
I  have  no  doubt,  we  shall  have  need  of  your  help.'  This  was 
the  first  thing  that  set  dear  Mr.  Ward  seriously  to  reflect ;  and 
his  God  strengthened  him  heartily  to  engage  in  the  good  work. 
Little  did  our  dear  brother  think  he  was  to  be  the  instrument, 
in  the  hand  of  God,  of  the  conversion  of  his  two  eldest  sons. 
How  mysterious  are  the  ways  of  Jehovah !  yet  all  right.  All 
his  plans  are  before  hun ;  nothing  at  random  or  without  design. 

'At  the  time  he  left  England  he  was  very  much  attached  to 
Phebe  Hobson,  his  sister's  eldest  child.  She  was  then  three 
years  old,  and  fond  of  her  uncle.  Sister  had  but  two  children 
at  the  time,  one  a  little  boy  only  a  year  old.  The  last  time 
my  brother  was  here,  he  said,  'In  your  fii'st  letter,  I  shall  ex- 
pect to  hear  of  the  death  of  that  child.'     But  he  is  yet  spared. 

'  It  was  a  little  remarkable  that  Phebe  always  wished  to  fol- 
low her  uncle,  and,  we  hope,  imbibes  a  little  of  his  spirit.  We 
think  it  an  honor  conferred  on  us  by  the  King  of  kings,  that 
he  has  called  one  out  of  my  sister's  family,  and  my  youngest 
brother's  only  surviving  son.  Oh,  may  these  earnests  encour- 
age our  future  hopes,  that  all  ours  may  be  a  seed  to  serve  him 
in  their  day  and  generation ! 

'  Jabez  Carey,  my  brother's  fourth  son,  was  born  at  Hackle- 
ton,  at  the  time  his  father  was  going  first  to  India.  Sister  con- 
cluded for  him  to  go  the  first  voyage  without  her ;  but  being 
detained  at  the  Isle  of  Wight  longer  than  they  expected,  his 
wife  was  delivered  in  the  mean  time.  He  wi'ote  us  the  account 
from  thence.  Providence  so  ordered  it  that  they  came  back. 
He  had  only  Felix  with  him  then.  He  said,  when  they  went 
in,  he  pleaded  by  silence  and  tears ;  while  Mr.  Thomas  pleaded 
by  arguments,  till  his  wife  consented  to  go.  No  time  was  then 
lost  in  getting  ready,  lest  she  should  change  her  mind,  or  the 
vessel  sail  without  them;  so,  from  ignorance  and  want  of 
time,  they  had  many  difficulties  on  board  the  ship.  Jabez  was 
only  six  weeks  old  when  they  left  England.  Jonathan  was 
born  at  Mudnabatty,  the  place  where  Peter  died.  Then  he 
had  four  sons  lefl;,  and  he  lives  to  see  them  all  engaged  for 
that  God  to  whom,  he  has  often  said,  that  from  the  first  of  his 
engaging  in  the  work  of  the  mission,  he  had  given  himself 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  25 

with  all  he  had,  and  on  that  account  could  not  draw  back,  as 
he  considered  the  success  of  the  work  he  had  engaged  in  de- 
pended upon  it.  Though  no  one  could  feel  more  tenderly  than 
he  did  the  affliction  of  his  dear  relatives,  yet  the  cause  of  his 
God  was  dearer  to  him.  And  in  this,  I  think,  most  of  his  rela- 
tives rejoiced,  rather  than  wished  it  otherwise,  whatever 
afflictions  or  privations  it  caused  them  to  feel. 

'  It  has  greatly  encouraged  me  of  late,  in  reading  over  some 
of  the  first  letters  he  sent,  to  see  how  he  was  enabled  to  act 
faith  on  a  faithful  God ;  and  in  how  many  instances  God  has 
answered  his  prayers  for  his  own  children,  and  the  children  of 
his  brother  and  sister,  as  well  as  other  relatives ;  and  as  for 
the  work  he  has  engaged  in,  God  has  far  exceeded  his  desires. 
He  lives  to  see  more  than  his  most  sanguine  hopes  asked  for. 
What  a  God  is  our  God !  May  our  few  remaining  days  be 
more  devoted  to  his  praise !  Whether  called  to  do  or  suflTer, 
may  but  the  gloiy  of  His  name  be  increasingly  dear  to  us ! 

'  In  some  of  our  brother's  last  letters,  he  expressed  great 
feeling  on  account  of  the  heavy  and  long  continued  afflictions 
of  some  of  his  relatives  ;  and,  as  soon  as  it  was  in  his  power, 
he  administered  to  their  necessities,  his  dear  partner  cheerfully 
appropriating  part  of  her  income  to  their  relief  He  did  not 
stand  to  confer  with  flesh  and  blood,  and  say,  I  have  a  family 
of  my  own ;  but  still  cast  them  on  the  care  of  that  God  who 
had  so  far  exceeded  all  his  hopes.  May  he  ever  possess  the 
same  disinterested  spirit! 

'  I  have  often  thought,  one  cause  of  the  sympathy  and  long 
continuance  of  kindness  I  have  met  with,  in  my  long  affliction, 
was  occasioned  by  the  kindness  of  my  parents,  to  one  person 
in  particular,  who  lay  nearly  dependent  on  them  for  support 
for  a  long  time.  I  know  God  is  able  to  return  even  to  a  cup 
of  cold  water ;  and  I  hope  it  is  my  earnest  request,  that  every 
instance  of  care  and  sympathy  shown  to  me,  or  any  dearer  to 
me  than  my  own  life,  may  be  returned  by  that  God  who  is  able 
to  make  all  grace  abound.  Yours,  &c., 

'Mary  Carey.' 

In  a  subsequent  letter  Mrs.  M.  C.  adds : 

'  I  forgot  to  mention  that  he  was  always,  from  his  first  being 
thoughtful,  remarkably  impressed  about  heathen  lands,  and  the 
4 


26  MEMOIR   OF    DR.  CARET. 

slave-trade.  I  never  remember  his  engaging  in  prayer,  in  his 
family  or  in  public,  without  praying  for  those  poor  creatures. 
The  fii-st  time  I  ever  recollect  my  feeling  for  the  heathen 
world,  was  from  a  discourse  I  heard  my  brother  preach  at 
Moulton,  the  first  summer  after  I  was  thoughtful.  It  was  from 
these  w  ords :  '  For  Zion's  sake  will  I  not  hold  my  peace,  and 
for  Jerusalem's  sake  will  I  give  him  no  rest.'  It  was  a  day  to 
be  remembered  by  me ;  a  day  set  apart  for  prayer  and  fasting 
by  the  church.  What  hath  God  wrought  since  that  time! 
What  encouragement  for  earnest  and  united  prayer,  that  the 
heavens  may  pour  down  righteousness,  and  the  glorious  dawn 
soon  open  in  the  splendor  of  noon.' 

Thomas,  the  brother  of  Dr.  Carey,  says : 

*  I  only  recollect  that  he  was,  from  a  boy,  remarkably  studi- 
ous, deeply  and  fully  bent  on  learning  all  he  could,  and  always 
resolutely  determined  never  to  give  up  any  point  or  particle  of 
any  thing  on  which  his  mind  was  set,  till  he  had  arrived  at  a  clear 
knowledge  and  sense  of  his  subject.  He  was  neither  diverted 
from  his  object  by  allurements,  or  driven  from  the  search  of  it 
by  threats  or  ridicule.  He  was  firm  in  his  purpose,  and  steady 
in  his  endeavors  to  improve ;  of  a  very  strong  and  retentive 
memory,  and  extraordinary  genius.  Thus  much  of  his  char- 
acter, when  a  boy,  I  have  a  perfect  recollection  of ' 

At  the  request  of  Mr.  Ivimey,  Mr.  Scott,  the  respected  com- 
mentator, supplied  the  following  relation  of  his  acquaintance 
with  Mr.  Carey : 

'  Aston  Sandford  ( Thame) ^ 

'  January  31,  1815. 
'Rev.  AND  Dear  Sir, 

'  I  feel  myself  much  gratified  with  the  present  you  sent  me 
of  my  highly  esteemed  friend,  Dr.  Carey.  I  have  indeed  been 
acquainted  with  those  who  instituted  and  conducted  your 
Missionary  Society  from  the  very  first ;  and  I  have  always  been 
a  cordial  friend  to  it,  though  not  able  to  do  much  in  supporting 
it,  beyond  my  daily  prayers,  which  have  not  been  often  omit- 
ted. I  now  think  that  it  bears  the  jialm  among  Missionary 
Societies,  and  I  rejoice  in  the  opening  prospects  of  usefulness 
beyond  what  its  most  sanguine  friends  once  expected  from  it. 

'  I  am  glad  that  you  remitted  to  me  the  anecdote  which  you 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  27 

have  heard  concerning  me,  respecting  Dr.  Carey,  but  do  not 
think  it  was  from  Mr.  SutcHfF.  It  is  indeed  wholly  unfounded, 
not  one  tittle  of  truth  in  it ;  I  therefore  hope  to  stop  its  circu- 
lation. 

'I  will,  however,  give  you  more  authentic  information  con- 
cerning my  first  acquaintance  with  our  beloved  and  revered 
friend.  In  the  year  1780,  Mr.  Newton  left  Olney ;  and  in  1781, 
I  succeeded  to  his  curacy.  Very  soon  after,  I  walked  from 
Olney  to  Northampton,  to  see  old  Mr.  Ryland,  and  to  meet  Mr. 
Hall,  of  Arnsby,  as  I  recollect.  Before  this,  it  pleased  God  to 
make  me  the  instrument  of  conversion  to  a  deaf  old  widow,  in 
good  circumstances,  between  seventy  and  eighty :  she  had  at- 
tended my  ministry  some  time,  though  she  heard  little,  and  I 
thought  understood  less.  But  when  she  was  confined  to  her 
house,  and  could  only  hear  me  when  I  spoke  loud,  she  gave 
such  proof  of  repentance,  and  faith,  and  love,  that  none  doubt- 
ed of  a  saving  change  in  her,  which  made  way  for  good  to 
some  of  her  relations.  Among  other  relations,  she  had  a  sis- 
ter, or,  as  I  think,  a  brother's  widow,  named  Old,  who  lived  at 
Hackleton,  in  the  road  to  Northampton,  whom  she  desired  me 
to  call  on.  Her  son  was  a  shoemaker,  and  young  Carey  was 
apprentice  to  him.  I  believe  both  the  widow  and  her  son 
were  pious  persons.  When  I  went  into  the  cottage,  I  was 
soon  recognized,  and  Mr.  Old  came  in,  with  a  sensible  looking 
lad  in  his  working  dress.  I  at  first  rather  wondered  to  see  him 
enter,  as  he  seemed  young,  being,  I  believe,  little  of  his  age. 
We,  however,  entered  into  very  interesting  conversation,  es- 
pecially respecting  my  parishioner,  their  relative,  and  the 
excellent  state  of  her  mind,  and  the  wonder  of  divine  grace  in 
the  conversion  of  one  who  had  been  so  very  many  years  con- 
sidered as  a  self-righteous  Pharisee.  I  believe  I  endeavored  to 
show  that  the  term  was  often  improperly  applied  to  conscienr 
tious  but  ignorant  inquirers,  who  are  far  from  self-satis/led,  and 
who,  when  the  gospel  is  set  before  them,  find  the  thing  which 
they  had  long  been  groping  after.  However  that  may  be,  I 
observed  the  lad  who  entered  with  Mr.  Old,  rivetted  in  at- 
tention, with  every  mark  and  symptom  of  intelligence  and 
feeling;  saying  little,  but  modestly  asking  now  and  then  an 
appropriate  question.  I  took  occasion,  before  I  went  forward, 
to  inquire  after  him,  and  found  that,  young  as  he  was,  he  was 


28  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

a  member  of  the  church  at  Hackleton,  and  looked  upon  as  a 
very  consistent  and  promising  character.  I  lived  at  Olney  till 
the  end  of  1785 ;  and  in  the  course  of  that  time,  I  called  per- 
haps two  or  three  times  each  year  at  Mr.  Old's,  and  was  each 
time  more  and  more  struck  with  the  youth's  conduct,  though 
I  said  little ;  but,  before  I  left  Olney,  Mr.  Carey  was  out  of  his 
engagement  with  Mr.  Old.  T  found  also  that  he  was  sent  out 
as  a  probationary  preacher,  and  preached  at  Moulton;  and  I 
said  to  all  to  whom  I  had  access,  that  he  would,  if  I  could 
judge,  prove  no  ordinary  man.  Yet,  though  I  often  met  both 
old  Mr.  Ryland,  the  present  Dr.  Ryland,  Mr.  Hall,  Mr.  Fuller, 
and  knew  almost  every  step  taken  in  forming  your  Missionaiy 
"Society,  and  though  I  sometimes  preached  very  near  Moulton, 
yet  it  so  happened,  that  I  do  not  recollect  having  met  with  him 
any  more,  till  he  came  to  my  house  in  London,  with  Mr. 
Thomas,  to  desire  me  to  use  what  little  influence  I  had  with 
Charles  Grant,  Esq.,  to  procure  them  license  to  go  m  the 
Company's  ships  as  missionaries  to  the  British  settlements  in 
Lidia,  perhaps  in  1792.  My  little  influence  was  of  no  avail. 
What  I  said  of  Mr.  Carey,  so  far  satisfied  Mr.  Grant,  that  he 
said,  if  Mr.  Carey  was  going  alone,  or  with  one  equally  to  be 
depended  on  along  with  him,  he  would  not  oppose  him ;  but 
his  strong  disapprobation  of  Mr.  T.,  on  what  gromid  I  knew 
not,  induced  his  negative.  I  believe  Mr.  Old  died  soon  afl;er  I 
left  Olney,  if  not  just  before;  and  his  shop,  which  was  a  little 
building  apart  from  the  house,  was  suffered  to  go  to  decay. 
While  in  this  state  I  several  times  passed  it,  and  said  to  my 
sons  and  others  with  me,  that  is  Mr.  Carey's  college.  As  it 
was  at  that  time  a  mean  and  ruinous  place,  and  as  I  stated  that 
Mr.  Carey  was  apprenticed  to  him  who  owned  it,  I  was,  by 
some  means  or  other,  charged  with  saymg  that  he  was  a 
parish  apprentice.  This  I  neither  said,  nor  meant,  nor  thought. 
The  Olds  were  rather  a  respectable  family  as  to  temporal 
things,  and  I  knew  nothing  of  Mr.  Carey's  family  till  after- 
ward I  was  informed  by  a  letter,  from  an  afflicted  sister  of 
his,  that  a  sermon,  which  I  preached  at  Creaton,  had  been  the 
aneans  of  her  conversion. 

'  I  from  the  first  thought  young  Carey  an  extraordinary  per- 
son :  I  augured  the  most  happy  consequences  from  his  mission, 
provided  his  life  were  spared :  I  had  no  doubt  but,  in  despite 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  29 

of  disadvantages  of  education,  he  would  be  a  learned  man. 
But  he  has  lived  to  go  beyond,  in  all  respects,  my  highest  an- 
ticipations. May  God  still  preserve  and  prosper  him  and  his ! 
My  time  of  life,  and  many  infirmities,  lead  me  to  suppose  my 
race  nearly  run ;  but  the  Lord  is  very  gracious,  and  I  still  keep 
busily  employed.  My  thanks  and  best  respects  to  the  com- 
mittee, and  my  thanks  to  you  for  the  publication. 
'  I  remain,  dear  Sir, 

'  Your  friend,  and  fellows-laborer, 

'Thomas  Scott.' 


SECTION    II. 

EDITORIAL      REMARKS VARIOUS      CIRCUMSTANCES      CONNECTED 

WITH    THE    FORMATION    OF    THE    BAPTIST    MISSIONARY    SOCI- 
ETY  FRAGMENT    OF    MEMOIR,  &C.,  FROM    THE    HAND    OF    MR. 

FULLER. 

The  reader  is  already  in  possession  of  the  leadhig  facts  and 
incidents  of  Dr.  Carey's  life,  to  the  period  of  his  regular  en- 
trance upon  the  duties  of  a  minister  and  a  pastor.  But,  there 
being  others  of  more  public  interest,  and  of  closer  relevancy 
to  that  great  work,  in  which  the  main  vigor  of  his  mind,  and 
the  two  thirds  of  his  days  were  devoted ;  and  there  bemg  other 
documentary  materials,  of  equal  interest  to  those  preceding,  it 
has  been  deemed  convenient  to  present  them  in  a  separate 
section.  Various  and  oppressive  difficulties  attended  him 
during  his  continuance  at  Hackleton ;  such  as  would  have 
repressed  the  ardor,  and  utterly  drunk  up  the  spirits  of  an 
ordinary  mind.  He  had  a  wife  of  exceedingly  fi-ail  constitu- 
tion, an  increasing  infant  family,  and  the  widow  of  his  deceas- 
4# 


30  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

ed  master  to  provide  for,  from  the  proceeds  of  a  business  in 
which,  whatever  might  be  his  proficiency  as  to  the  mechanical 
part  of  it,  he  was  confessedly  very  incompetent  as  a  prmcipal. 
Nor  were  his  circumstances  less  inauspicious  to  the  forma- 
tion of  his  religious  life  and  principles,  than  they  were  to  his 
secular  comfort.  Though  subject  to  certain  moral  restraints, 
and  compelled  to  attend  the  regular  service  of  the  Establish- 
ment, as  is  commonly  the  case  where  a  just  exposition  and  a 
spiritual  enforcement  of  the  word  of  God  is  absent,  it  sei-ved 
only  to  invest  him  with  a  veil  of  ceremonial  sanctity,  leaving 
him  a  stranger  and  an  alien  to  evangelical  religion.  When  the 
light  of  divine  truth  fii'st  broke  in  upon  his  mind,  and  the  earli- 
est emotions  of  a  spiritual  life  commenced  their  struggle  in  his 
heart,  he  had  the  fiercest  prejudices  to  surmount,  and  every 
militant  passion  to  subdue.  The  few  Christians  with  whom 
he  fii'st  united  m  fellowship,  were  not  in  circumstances  to  con- 
tribute to  his  intellectual  improvement ;  and  were  too  rigidly 
bound  to  a  jejune  heartless  system  of  doctrine,  to  aid  him  in 
the  acquisition  of  correct  and  comprehensive  views  of  the 
gospel,  or  aflTord  him  encouragement  in  diffusing  them.  He 
was  thirsting  for  every  species  of  knowledge,  without  the 
slightest  facility  for  its  attainment,  and  with  scarcely  a  kindred 
mind  near  him  interested  in  his  welfare,  or  in  sympathy  with 
his  feelings.  Yet,  amidst  all  this  pressure  of  discouragement, 
he  made  sensible  improvement  in  the  cultivation  of  his  mind, 
and  strenuously  exerted  himself  in  preaching  the  gospel,  in 
places  distant  some  miles  from  the  village  in  which  he  resided. 
But  now,  mcidents  occurred,  and  a  rapid,  but  perfectly  easy, 
succession  of  events  were  put  in  motion,  which  smoothed  his 
access  to  ultimate  eminence  in  literature  and  science,  and 
conducted  him  to  a  sphere  of  religious  activity,  which,  for  ex- 
tent and  importance,  has  seldom  been  paralleled  in  the  annals 
of  human  enterprise.  At  this  crisis,  the  acquaintance  he 
formed  with  Mr.  Ryland,  junior,  of  Northampton,  afterwards 
Theological  President  of  the  Bristol  Academy,  and  with  Mr. 
SutcliflT,  of  Olney,  Bucks.,  contributed  greatly  to  his  encourage- 
ment. The  latter  friend  often  congratulated  himself,  that  he 
lent  him  a  Latm  grammar,  the  first  elementary  book,  he  be- 
lieved, that  Mr.  Carey  ever  perused  in  that  or  any  other  lan- 
guage.    He  also  invited  him,  as  the  reader  has  already  learned, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  31 

to  exercise  his  talents  before  the  members  of  his  own  church, 
and  thus  more  regularly  authenticated  his  call  to  the  ministeri- 
al office. 

His  settlement  at  Moulton,  a  village  a  few  miles  distant  from 
the  one  in  which  hitherto  he  had  resided,  was  variously  bene- 
ficial. He  had  now  a  regular  charge,  and  the  diligent  study  of 
the  word  of  God,  with  other  reading,  and  the  mental  effort 
necessary  in  publicly  ministering  to  the  same  people  four 
times  every  week,  made  him  a  rigid  economist  of  time,  and 
was  no  doubt  favorable  to  that  stern  and  almost  sovereign  con- 
trol which  he  ultimately  exercised  over  his  own  faculties, 
commanding  them  in  concentrated  force  to  any  object,  and 
almost  at  any  time  he  pleased.  Here,  also,  he  become  intimate 
with  other  ministers ;  as  with  Mr.  Fuller,  Mr.  Hall,  of  Arnsby, 
in  Leicestershire,  Mr.  Morris,  of  Clipston,  and  Mr.  Samuel 
Pearce,  of  Birmingham.  Mr.  Hall  was  then  venerable  for  age, 
admired  through  the  denomination  to  which  he  belonged,  for 
the  greatness  of  his  talents ;  but  more  so,  if  possible,  for  his 
elevated  piety,  and  the  condescension  of  his  deportment.  The 
last  feature  of  his  character  especially  endeared  him  to  his 
junior  brethren.  At  regular  intervals  Mr.  Morris  and  Mr. 
Carey  met  at  Mr.  Hall's,  to  benefit  by  his  conversation  and  his 
critical  remarks  upon  their  pulpit  exercises,  the  outlines  of 
which  they  rehearsed  to  him.  If  ministers  of  good  attain- 
ments and  long  standing  in  the  church  of  Christ,  would  court 
the  society  of  their  youthful  brethren  who  happen  to  live 
within  the  sphere  of  their  influence,  and  would  lay  open  to 
them  the  results  of  their  own  theological  studies,  and  their  ex- 
perience in  the  practical,  and  often  painful,  details  of  pastoral 
life,  it  would  be  of  incalculable  benefit  both  to  ministers  and 
people.  Valuable  hints  might  often  be  suggested  for  the  solu- 
tion of  particular  passages,  for  the  confirmation  of  important 
principles  in  biblical  criticism  and  in  morals ;  and  such  in- 
formation afforded  upon  the  economy  of  Christian  churches, 
as  might  prevent  those  painful  collisions  which  sometimes  mar 
the  comfort  of  societies,  and  impair  the  usefulness  of  their 
pastors.  Mr.  Carey  was  never  heard  to  speak  of  his  inter- 
course with  Mr.  Hall  but  with  the  deepest  emotion,  such  as 
often  impeded  his  utterance.  But  among  his  ministerial 
acquaintance,  there  was  no  one  with  whom  he  assimilated 


32  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

entirely  as  with  Mr.  Fuller.  In  decision,  simplicity,  and  native 
mental  vigor,  they  perhaps  were  equal ;  though,  in  other  res- 
pects, their  endowments  were  sufficiently  dissimilar  to  mark 
them  out  each  one  for  eminence  in  very  distinct  departments. 
That  intimate  union  between  them  which  proved  of  such  im- 
portant consequence  to  the  cause  in  which  each  exerted  so 
mighty  an  influence,  and  which  continued  for  nearly  thirty 
years,  without  abatement  and  without  alloy,  commenced  at 
Northampton,  at  a  periodical  meeting  of  ministers.  The  per- 
son who  was  exjDected  to  occupy  the  pulpit  failing  to  fulfil  his 
engagement,  Mr.  Carey  was  requested  to  supply  his  place. 
He  discoursed  from  Matt,  v,  48 :  '  Be  ye  perfect,  as  your  Father 
in  heaven  is  perfect.'  Upon  his  descending  the  pulpit,  Mr. 
Fuller,  seizing  him  by  the  hand,  expressed  the  pleasure  he 
felt  in  finding  that  their  sentiments  so  closely  corresponded ; 
and  hoped  they  should  know  each  other  more  intimately.  He 
has  often  told  me,  that  no  event  weaned  him  so  eflTectually 
from  his  native  country,  as  the  death  of  this  beloved  coadjutor 
and  valued  friend. 

Two  subjects  at  this  time  engrossed  the  attention  and  drew 
forth  the  energies  of  Mr.  Fuller  and  Mr.  Carey.  The  first  was,, 
the  duty  of  all  men  to  believe  the  gospel  to  whom  it  is  made 
known.  The  other,  the  duty  of  the  Christian  church  to  pub- 
lish it  throughout  the  world.  A  spurious  system  of  Calvinism 
prevailed  so  extensively  in  the  churches  of  the  Baptist  de- 
nomination, through  the  midland  counties,  as  to  delude  and 
obdurate  the  consciences  of  the  unconverted ;  whilst  it  chilled 
the  sympathies,  and  utterly  paralyzed  the  efforts,  of  professing 
Christians.  The  broad  common-sense  principle,  that  every 
human  soul,  when  hearing  the  gospel,  is  bound  to  believe  and 
obey  it,  and  is  eligible  to  its  mercies,  was  then  but  dimly  seen 
by  many  preachers,  and  seldom  candidly  announced.  The 
total  denial  of  this  principle  by  some,  and  the  very  partial  ad- 
mission and  timid  avowal  of  it  by  others,  was  disastrous  in  the 
extreme,  as  must  ever  be  the  case  where  the  same  course  is 
followed,  and  which  may  well  impress  ministers  with  the  im 
portance  of  attaining  clear,  consistent,  and  comprehensive 
views  of  divine  truth,  and  of  making  them  known  without 
hesitation  or  reserve.  For,  if  ministers  do  not  perceive  it  to 
be  the  duty  of  men  to  believe  the  gospel,  their  hearers  will 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  33 

readily  enough  conclude  that  the  sm  of  rejecting  it  is  propor- 
tionably  doubtful. 

While  the  errors  of  this  system  were  detected  and  exploded 
by  the  able  pen  of  Mr.  Fuller,  and  the  way  was  preparing  for 
the  more  salutary  exercise  of  the  ministry  at  home,  the  other 
subject,  of  equal  legitimacy  and  force,  employed  the  unremit- 
ted and  anxious  attention  of  his  friend.  I  have  been  often 
told  by  his  sisters,  and  by  the  deacon  of  his  church  at  Leices- 
ter, that  for  several  years  he  never  engaged  in  prayer,  to  the 
best  of  their  remembrance,  without  interceding  for  the  con- 
version of  the  heathen,  and  for  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade. 

The  straits  to  which  he  was  reduced  whilst  at  Moulton,  were 
almost  incredible.  It  has  been  already  remarked,  in  his  sis- 
ter's memorial  in  the  previous  section,  that  he  was  compelled 
to  teach  a  school  for  his  subsistence ;  and  that  the  former 
schoolmaster,  contrary  to  expectation,  returning  to  the  village, 
and  recommencing  in  the  same  line,  frustrated  his  attempts. 
The  person  had  some  degree  of  reputation  already  established, 
and  the  village  was  too  small  to  supply  scholars  in  sufficient 
number  for  them  both.  Mr.  Carey's  school,  therefore,  gradu- 
ally dwindled.  To  compensate  for  this  failure,  he  had  recourse 
to  his  business,  working  somewhat  with  his  own  hands,  and 
giving  out  work  to  be  done  by  others,  for  a  gentleman  residing 
at  Kettering.  But  my  respected  friend,  Mr.  Gotch,  the  son  of 
the  above,  who  well  remembers  Mr.  Carey  at  this  time,  bears 
no  very  flattering  testimony  to  his  skill,  either  in  making  up, 
or  in  superintending  the  work  of  others.  There  can  be  no 
difficulty  in  accounting  for  his  disappointment.  He  had  other 
objects  of  thought,  and  other  purposes  inceptively  forming, 
the  injEluence  of  which  could  not  be  supplanted,  and  the  pro- 
gress of  which  was  not  to  be  arrested,  by  other  and  lower 
pursuits,  however  imperative  the  necessity  for  an  attention  to 
them. 

The  people  were  so  exceedingly  poor,  that  they  raised 
scarcely  any  thing  for  his  support.  Yet,  I  confess,  it  is  difficult 
to  conceive  of  any  church,  however  small,  and  however  indi- 
gent, which,  with  due  economy  and  union,  might  not  contribute 
something  for  the  comfort  of  their  minister,  in  many  instances 
far  beyond  what  is  done  at  present.  An  attention  to  that 
common  sense,  and  a  deference  to  those  principles  of  univer- 


34  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

sal  equity,  which  regulate  the  conduct  of  men  in  the  ten 
thousand  transactions  of  ordinary  life,  might  prove  of  no 
small  advantage  to  Christian  societies.  The  want  of  sys- 
tematic arrangement  for  the  securing  both  labor  and  contribu- 
tion, are,  in  many  instances,  lamentably  evident.  The  giving 
and  the  doing  are  often  devolved  upon  less  than  one  third  of 
the  attendants.  One  or  two  deacons,  necessarily  inefficient 
by  age  and  its  inseparable  infirmities,  are  oppressed  with  the 
secular  burden  of  the  whole  duty ;  whereas  every  member  of 
a  church  should  hold  it  a  sacred  duty  to  consecrate  somewhat 
of  labor  and  of  substance  to  the  interest  of  the  body.  This 
is  indubitably  the  law  of  the  New  Testament ;  that  every  one, 
receiving  spiritual  benefit,  should  yield  some  appropriate  return. 
And,  unless  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich  recognize  and  act  up 
to  this  obligation,  thej'e  can  be  no  approach  to  perfection  in 
any  society  of  Christians.  The  poor  are  not  generally  disin- 
clined to  give  to  any  just  and  benevolent  object,  whether  for- 
eign or  domestic ;  and  no  sum,  even  to  a  fraction,  should  be 
refused,  or  reluctantly  received,  when  offered  in  obedience  to 
a  divine  injunction,  and  flowing,  as  we  may  trust  it  often  does, 
from  a  righteous  and  holy  principle.  But  no  more  ought  to 
be  expected  from  them  than  what  is  in  proportion  to  then' 
known  condition ;  and  that  should  be  punctually  obtained  at 
the  stipulated  periods.  Should  their  donations  be  deemed  too 
small  to  be  collected  in  detail,  the  poor  cannot  be  expected  to 
give  in  aggregate  amounts ;  they  will  feel  disparaged  and 
wounded  by  the  neglect ;  and  their  prayers  and  donations  are 
forfeited  together :  and  another  inevitable  consequence  is,  that 
a  few  persons  in  competent  circumstances,  having  more  to 
subscribe  than  could  in  justice  be  apportioned  to  them,  begin 
to  wince  under  their  burdens ;  the  minister  is  ill  provided  for ; 
he  sighs  in  secret  over  the  severity  of  his  condition,  and  the 
hardness  of  his  people's  hearts ;  and  that  reciprocity  of  inter- 
est, and  that  unity  of  aflfection  and  of  eflTort,  which  are  the 
soul  of  voluntary  compacts,  is  annihilated.*  Both  the  church 
and  congregation  at  Moulton  considerably  augmented  under 

*' Hints  for  the  Regulation  of  Ciiristian  Churches,  by  C.  Btovel,'  both  for  the 
principles  it  avows,  and  the  details  it  recommends,  is  well  entitled  to  the  serious 
attention  of  all  members  of  Dissenting  churches,  but  especially  to  that  of  ministers 
and  deacons, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  35 

Mr.  Carey's  ministry ;  the  chapel  was  rebuilt  and  enlarged  for 
their  accommodation ;  they  felt  growingly  fervent  in  attach- 
ment to  him,  so  that  they  parted  from  him  upon  his  removal 
to  Leicester  with  extreme  reluctance ;  and  yet,  I  have  it  upon 
undeniable  evidence,  that  he  and  his  family  have  lived  for  a 
month  together  without  tasting  animal  food.  It  was  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  therefore,  that  he  should  entertain  the  invitation 
of  another  church,  a  connection  with  which  might  both  en- 
large his  sphere  of  usefulness,  and  somewhat  meliorate  his 
outward  condition.  His  feelings  in  reference  to  this  subject, 
he  expresses  in  the  following  letter  to  his  father: 

'Moulton,  Feb.  21st,  1789. 
'Dear  Father, 

'  I  am  exceedingly  divided  in  my  own  mind,  and  greatly 
need  your  prayers.  It  is  well  known  what  my  situation  is 
here,  and  on  that  account  I  this  week  received  an  unanimous 
invitation  from  the  Baptist  church  at  Leicester,  to  go  and  settle 
with  them,  which  was  joined  by  some  of  the  church  people, 
who  sit  under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Robinson,  of  St.  Mary's.  If 
I  only  regarded  worldly  things,  I  should  go  without  hesitation ; 
but  when  I  reflect  upon  the  situation  of  things  here,  I  know 
not  what  to  do,  though  I  think  the  state  of  things  would  justify 
my  removal.  Wm.  Carey.' 

Whilst  instructing  his  pupils  in  geography,  his  attention  was 
drawn  by  a  transition,  easy  enough  to  such  a  mind,  from  the 
physical  to  the  religious  condition  of  the  tribes  inhabiting  the 
regions  which  passed  successively  under  review.  The  subject, 
as  he  pursued  it,  became  more  intensely  interesting,  until  at 
length  it  was  the  all-absorbing  theme.  He  then  sought  op- 
portunities of  pressing  it  upon  the  attention  of  his  brethren. 
At  a  meeting  of  ministers  holden  at  Northampton,  about  this 
time,  Mr.  Ryland,  senior,  called  upon  the  young  ministers  to 
propose  a  topic  for  discussion.  As  no  one  else  obeyed  the 
challenge,  after  waiting  some  time,  Mr.  Carey  proposed  for 
consideration,  '  the  duty  of  Christians  to  attempt  the  spread 
of  the  gospel  among  heathen  nations.'  The  old  gentleman 
received  the  announcement  of  the  subject  with  great  surprise. 


36  MEMOIR   OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Mr.  Morris,  now  the  only  surviving  friend  *  w^ho  was  present 
upon  the  occasion,  says,  that  Mr.  Ryland  called  him  an  enthu- 
siast for  entertaining  such  an  idea.  I  am  aware  that  Dr.  Ryland 
questioned  the  accm-acy  of  Mr.  Morris's  recollection  as  to  this 
matter ;  and  when  he  inquired  of  Dr.  Carey  some  years  ago, 
he  was  of  the  same  mind.  But,  with  me,  this  does  not  invali- 
date the  correctness  of  Mr.  M.'s  testimony.  I  well  recollect 
my  relative's  speaking  to  me,  soon  after  my  arrival  in  India, 
respecting  this  meeting,  and  Mr.  R.'s  remark.  I  do  not  re- 
member his  repeating  that  precise  expression,  which  indeed 
is  of  very  little  moment ;  but  I  distinctly  recollect  that  some 
strong  epithet  was  said  to  have  been  used :  and  when  it  is 
considered  how  novel  the  subject  of  foreign  missions  was  at 
that  time,  and  the  characteristic  vehemence  of  Mr.  Ryland  is 
taken  into  account,  I  conceive  there  can  be  little  to  except 
against  in  Mr.  Morris's  statement.  It  is  w^ell  known,  that  per- 
sons accustomed  to  utter  themselves  in  extreme  terms,  are  not 
unfrequently  heard  with  an  attention  diminished  in  proportion 
to  the  known  intensity  of  their  manner.  It  ought  not,  there- 
fore, to  be  deemed  conclusive  against  the  truth  of  what  is 
related  to  have  been  said  by  such  an  one,  because,  after,  the 
lapse  of  thirty  years,  only  one  out  of  three  persons  who  were 
present  deposes  to  the  truth  of  it. 

Mr.  Ryland's  indisposition  to  encounter  this  subject,  had  no 
other  effect  upon  the  mind  of  Mr.  Carey,  than  to  quicken  his 
attention  to  it.  It  was  at  this  time,  during  his  short  residence 
at  Moulton,  that  he  composed  his  inquiry  into  the  obligations 
of  Christians,  &c.,  one  of  its  leading  topics  being  suggested 
by  the  conversation  above  referred  to.  In  this  pamphlet  he 
discusses  the  perpetuity  of  our  Lord's  commission ;  and  re- 
capitulates the  efforts  made  in  each  century  and  in  every 
country  for  its  fulfilment.  He  then  exhibits  a  tabular  view  of 
the  various  countries  in  each  quarter  of  the  world,  their  geo- 
graphical limits,  the  number  of  their  respective  inhabitants, 
and  their  several  religious  denominations,  with  the  relative 
numbers  included  under  each.     The  last  section  demonstrates 


*  Between  the  time  of  composing  the  above  paragraph,  and  correcting  it  in  pas- 
sing through  the  press,  Mr.  Morris  also  has  ceased  his  sojourn  on  earth. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  37 

the  practicability  of  making  further  attempts  for  the  conver- 
sion of  the  heathen  than  any  hitherto  made.  Various  objec- 
tions are  then  stated  and  solved,  and  the  work  concludes  with 
a  judicious  and  spirited  appeal  to  ministers  and  people.  The 
latter  are  exhorted  to  cultivate  a  benevolent  spirit,  and  to 
make  such  pecuniary  sacrifices  as  became  their  profession, 
and  would  prove  commensurate  with  the  object ;  whilst  the 
former  are  besought  to  consider  their  official  as  well  as  their 
common  obligations,  to  make  every  effort,  and  to  submit  to 
every  privation,  and  even  to  sacrifice  life  itself,  if  such  be  the 
will  of  God, — a  minister  being,  as  he  remarks,  '  in  a  peculiar 
sense,  not  his  own.' 

His  removal  to  Leicester,  wliich  took  place  in  1789,  gave 
him  increased  opportunities  for  the  acquisition  of  every  species 
of  knowledge.  Dr.  Arnold,  a  great  lover  of  polite  literature, 
gave  him  free  access  to  his  library, — a  circumstance  Avhich, 
together  with  other  attentions  he  received  from  that  gentleman, 
nourishing  his  love  of  science,  and  making  him  acquainted 
with  the  best  works  then  extant  upon  its  several  branches, 
prepared  him  to  pursue  his  studies  more  effectively  when 
abroad,  and  shut  up  to  his  own  resources. 

By  his  removal  to  Leicester,  his  temporal  circumstances 
were  somewhat  improved ;  yet,  here  also  he  found  it  necessa- 
ry to  increase  his  income  by  again  teaching  a  school ;  and  a 
letter  is  extant,  addressed  to  Mr.  Abraham  Booth,  signed  by 
himself  and  his  deacons,  acknowledging  an  exhibition  from 
the  Baptist  fund,  an  institution  for  the  relief  of  necessitous 
ministers  and  churches,  and  requesting  the  committee  to  re- 
new the  grant. 

He  here  regularly  distributed  his  time,  apportioning  to  every 
day,  and  almost  to  every  hour,  its  appropriate  labor.  A  few 
lines,  extracted  from  a  letter  addressed  to  his  father,  will  show 
the  method  he  adopted,  and  which,  being  modified  as  his  vari- 
ed circumstances  in  after  life  required,  was  the  main  cause  of 
his  being  able  to  conduct  every  thing  to  which  his  energies 
were  directed  to  so  successful  an  issue. 

'  Leicester,  JVov.  12th,  1790. 
'  Dear  and  Honored  Father, 

'  I  have  no  excuse  to  make  for  not  writing  to  you  before 
5 


38  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

now,  except  an  indisposition  for  writing  in  general  may  be 
pleaded  in  excuse.  But  I  cannot  with  propriety  plead  my 
faults  as  an  excuse  for  my  faults.  However,  my  many  avoca- 
tions, which  take  up  all  my  time,  make  me  wish  for  a  little 
relaxation  from  business  when  a  few  spare  moments  offer. 
Indeed,  I  often  condemn  myself  for  not  corresponding  oftener 
with  my  dear  relations,  and  other  acquaintance ;  but  when  I 
review  my  hours,  I  am  sometimes  inclined  to  think  that  it  is 
out  of  my  power. 

'Polly's  affectionate  letter  I  received  with  pleasure  and 
shame  ;  pleasure  to  hear  of  your  welfare,  and  shame  that  she 
has  any  occasion  to  complain.  I  hope  to  amend  for  the  future  ; 
but  if  I  send  you  an  accomit  of  the  partition  of  my  time,  you 
will  see  that  you  must  not  expect  frequent  letters. 

'  On  Monday,  I  confine  myself  to  the  study  of  the  learned 
languages,  and  oblige  myself  to  translate  something.  On 
Tuesday,  to  the  study  of  science,  history,  composition,  &c. 
On  Wednesday,  I  preach  a  lecture,  and  have  been  for  more 
than  twelve  months  on  the  book  of  Revelation.  On  Thursday, 
I  visit  my  friends.  Friday  and  Saturday  are  spent  in  preparing 
for  the  Lord's  day  ;  and  the  Lord's  day,  in  preaching  the  word 
of  God.  Once  a  fortnight,  I  preach  three  times  at  home  ;  and 
once  a  fortnight,  I  go  to  a  neighboring  village  in  the  evening. 
Once  a  month,  I  go  to  another  village  on  the  Tuesday  evening. 
My  school  begins  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  continues 
till  four  o'clock  in  winter,  and  five  in  summer.  I  have  acted 
for  this  twelvemonth  as  secretary  to  the  committee  of  Dissent- 
ers ;  and  am  now  to  be  regularly  appointed  to  that  office,  with 
a  salary.  Add  to  this,  occasional  journeys,  ministers'  meetings, 
&c.,  and  you  will  rather  wonder  that  I  have  any  time,  than  that 
I  have  so  little. 

'  I  am  not  my  OAvn,  nor  would  I  choose  for  myself  Let  God 
employ  me  where  he  thinks  fit,  and  give  me  patience  and  dis- 
cretion to  fill  up  my  station  to  his  honor  and  glory. 

'  Polly  complains  much.  All  I  can  say  to  her  is  this  :  A 
sinner  on  this  side  hell  will  have  reason  to  despond,  when  the 
blood  of  Christ  has  lost  its  efficacy ;  when  the  nature  of  God 
is  changed,  and  he  ceases  to  be  good  and  gracious;  or  when 
the  gospel  is  repealed,  and  all  its  glorious  declarations  obliter- 
ated. Then,  and  not  till  then,  may  my  dear  sister  have  reason 
to  despair.    Abhor  herself  she  ought ;  and  ought  to  be  sensi- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  39 

ble,  in  the  most  exquisite  manner,  of  her  rebellion  and  deprav- 
ity; but  till  her  sins  are  greater  than  God  can  forgive,  or 
surpass  the  value  of  her  Savior's  blood,  she  may  hope.  Nay, 
if  she  herself  had  chosen  on  what  terms  God  should  have  ex- 
pressed his  willingness  to  save,  she  could  not  have  chosen 
language  more  exiDlicit,  or  declarations  more  unlimited.  There 
is  a  ground  of  hope ;  and  here  all  is  '  solid  rock.' 

'I  trust  I  have  some  pleasing  enjoyments,  though  to  my 
shame  I  live  very  far  below  my  privileges.  On  the  one  hand 
I  am  filled  with  shame  and  horror;  on  the  other,  with  the 
greatest  hopes  and  expectations. 

'  I  am  yom-  dutiful  Son,  Wm.  Carey.' 

'Leicester,  May  5ih,  1791. 
'My  Dear  Father, 

'  God  is,  I  trust,  reviving  his  work  among  us.  Several  }  oung 
l^eople  appear  under  concern  of  soul;  and  at  a  village  about 
three  miles  off,  an  amazing  alteration  has  taken  place ;  and 
hence  I  opened  a  lecture  there  about  nine  months  since ;  sev- 
eral have  been  converted,  in  all  probability.  Mr.  Wesley's 
congregation  before  that,  at  preaching,  was  from  twelve  to 
twenty ;  now,  about  three  weeks  ago,  one  hundred  and  nine 
were  counted  out  of  a  prayer-meeting. 

'  I  exjiect  to  baptize  six  persons  in  about  a  fortnight.  The 
time  of  my  ordination  is  fixed  for  the  24th  instant. 

'Your  dutiful  Son,  Wm.  Carey.' 

Though  the  church  at  Leicester  was  comparatively  small, 
and  in  much  derangement  when  he  succeeded  to  the  pastorate, 
he  nevertheless  restored  it  to  order,  and  much  increased  the 
communicants  and  the  attendants  upon  his  ministry.  His 
consistency  of  deportment,  both  as  a  Christian  and  a  public 
character,  became  generally  known,  and  speedily  advanced 
him  in  the  estimation  of  the  inhabitants,  as  well  as  that  of  his 
immediate  religious  connections.  He  enjoyed  the  intimate 
friendship  of  Mr.  Robinson,  an  eminently  successful  minister 
in  the  Establishment,  the  author  of  'Scripture  Characters,' 
whom  he  frequently  accompanied  in  his  pastoral  visits,  from 
whom  he  always  spoke  of  himself  as  deriving  much  benefit. 

But  nothing  in  his  present  labors,  or  in  the  cheering  success 


40  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

with  wliich  they  were  crowned,  could  divert  his  mind  from 
the  design  of  a  mission  to  the  heathen.  By  degrees,  he  suc- 
ceeded also  in  exciting  the  attention  of  his  brother  ministers 
to  the  same  object.  By  frequent  discussion,  free  interchange 
of  thoughts,  accompanied  with  united  importunate  prayer, 
their  sentiments  assimilated,  and  their  zeal  and  benevolence 
were  soon  provoked  into  some  external  demonstration.  So 
early  as  1784,  a  few  of  these  devout  servants  of  God  met  in 
association  at  Nottingham,  resolved  to  set  apart  an  hour  on 
the  first  Monday  evening  in  every  month,  '  for  extraordinary 
prayer  for  the  revival  of  religion,  and  for  the  extending  of 
Christ's  kingdom  in  the  world.'  Thus  commenced  the  united 
missionary  prayer-meetings,  now  prevalent  through  every  part 
of  Christendom.  No  one  can  calculate  the  ultimate  good  to 
which  a  single  attempt,  justly  principled,  and  wisely  directed, 
may  lead.  Within  half  a  century,  some  of  the  most  potent 
and  comprehensive  agencies  that  ever  influenced  the  moral 
world,  have  originated  in  the  devotions  and  unpretending  ef- 
forts of  a  few  individuals,  or  of  a  single  mind.  Thus  the 
design,  simple  as  it  was  devout,  of  circulating  the  volume  of 
inspired  truth,  entire  and  without  human  accompaniment, 
within  a  very  few  years,  has  multiplied  its  copies  as  the  '  sands 
of  the  sea-shore,'  rendered  it  available  to  every  nation  on  earth, 
and  placed  it  within  reach  of  almost  every  soul  of  mankind. 
The  projection  of  the  monitorial  common-sense  method  of  in- 
struction by  Joseph  Lancaster,  has  antiquated  the  stupidities 
of  former  ages,  and  laid  open  the  blessings  of  a  sound  ele- 
mentary education  to  the  whole  globe.  The  pious,  and  at  first 
almost  unaided,  labors  of  Mr.  Raikes,  to  rescue  from  profane- 
ness  the  juvenile  poor,  to  imbue  them  with  scriptural  knowl- 
edge, and  train  them  to  the  habits  of  religious  life,  have  created 
in  every  tov.n  in  Great  Britain  and  America,  a  fruitful  nursery 
for  the  church  of  Christ,  and  sent  forth  a  living  supply  of 
efficient  laborers  to  disseminate  the  gospel  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  The  humble  attempt  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir, 
to  excite  the  zeal  of  his  immediate  brethren,  was  not  only 
effectual  for  the  purpose  and  to  the  degree  he  primarily  med- 
itated ;  it  was  an  impulse  destined  to  move,  ere  long,  the  whole 
Christian  world,  and  to  diffuse  an  influence  which  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  earth  should  feel,  to  be  perpetuated  to  the  end 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  41 

of  time,  and  the  final  results  of  which,  the  light  of  eternity 
must  develop.  The  sympathies  of  every  community  were 
shortly  awakened,  their  energies  were  provoked,  and,  from  the 
period  now  under  review  to  tJie  present,  faithful  brethren  have 
been  sent  forth,  charged  on  errands  of  mercy,  to  every  region 
whither  the  commercial  enterprise  of  this  mighty  empire  has 
adventured  her  sails.  The  simple  proposition  for  devoting  a 
single  hour  in  one  evening  of  every  month  in  i)rayer  for  a 
specific  object,  has  united  the  aspirations  of  pious  men  by 
myriads  through  every  section  of  the  universal  church,  and,  if 
maintained  with  vigor  and  unaffected  unity  of  spirit,  may  yet 
prove  the  ordained  means  of  bringing  down  from  the  '  Father 
of  lights,'  and  the  'Father  of  mercies,'  those  final  effusions  of 
his  renewing  spirit,  the  grand  burden  of  prophetic  and  evan- 
gelical promise,  unspeakably  transcendent  of  any  thing  yet 
experienced  among  men,  by  which,  'the  wilderness  shall  be 
converted  into  a  fruitful  field;'  and  that  which  before  was 
deemed  fruitful,  shall  be  esteemed  a  forest.  It  cannot  be  too 
deeply  regretted  that  these  special  occasions  of  devotion  are 
frequently,  and  in  many  places,  very  ill  attended.  Denomina- 
tional prejudice  and  local  collision  are  allowed  to  interrupt  the 
harmony  for  the  promotion  of  which  they  were  at  first  iiisti- 
tuted;  and  in  some  instances  to  suspend,  and  altogether  to 
dissol\^e  it.  Nor  need  it  be  disguised,  that  the  hnprovement 
derivable  from  these  catholic  exercises  is  of\en  prevented,  and 
the  comfort  of  them  marred,  by  the  monotony  with  which 
they  are  conducted,  and  the  wearisome  length  to  which  every 
part  of  them  is  carried.  The  petitions  and  the  phraseology 
are  not  sufficiently  specific,  and  closely  relevant  to  the  profes- 
sed object  of  the  meeting;  but  are  fetched  promiscuously 
from  the  whole  circle  of  devotional  topics.  The  mind,  instead 
of  being  refreshed,  is  wearied  with  the  requisite  attention; 
and,  before  a  prayer  is  concluded,  the  half  of  the  congrega- 
tion have  resumed  their  seats.  The  Wesleyan  brethren,  in 
this,  as  in  some  other  parts  of  their  practical  economy,  are 
worthy  of  imitation.  They  will  engage  five  or  six  persons  in 
praying,  and  sing  portions  of  as  many  hymns,  within  the  com- 
pass of  an  hour. 

By  degrees,  Mr.  Carey  succeeded  in  bringing  his  ministerial 
brethren   to   sympathize  with  him  in  his  missionary  views. 
5* 


42  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Several  opportunities  were  also  offered  by  their  periodical 
meetings,  for  maturing  them  into  some  ultimate  and  feasible 
plan  of  operation.  The  first  of  these  was  at  Clipston,  in 
Northamptonshire,  in  the  spring  of  1791,  when  Mr.  Fuller  and 
Mr.  SutclifF  preached  sermons  appropriate  to  such  a  design. 
After  which  sermons,  Mr.  Carey  m-ged  his  brethren  to  form 
themselves  into  a  Society.  But  they  wished  for  time,  and 
requested  him  to  publish  his  pamphlet  which  they  knew  him 
to  have  in  manuscript.  A  second  meeting  was  holden  at  Not- 
tingham one  year  afterwards,  when  further  progress  was  made. 
It  was  then  he  preached  his  memorable  sermon  from  Isai.  liv, 
23.  This  discourse  ripened  the  convictions  of  his  brethren 
that  it  was  imperative  upon  them,  with  as  little  delay  as  possi- 
ble, to  organize  their  plan,  and  commence  operation.  The 
outline  of  this  plan  was  offered  for  acceptance  at  Kettering,  in 
October,  of  the  same  year,  when  a  committee  was  formed, 
and  the  first  fruits  of  its  benevolence  were  offered  to  advance 
the  institution  wliich  their  piety  and  zeal  originated.  This 
contribution  amounted  to  thirteen  pounds  two  shillings  and 
sixpence.  At  a  fourth  meeting,  which  took  place  shortly  afler 
at  Northampton,  further  deliberations  were  entered  into,  and 
Mr.  Pearce,  of  Birmingham,  was  added  to  the  original  com- 
mittee. Thus  a  simple  machinery  was  formed  and  set  in 
motion,  which  led  the  way  in  that  mighty  career  of  Christian 
benevolence  for  which  the  present  generation  stands  dis- 
tinguished beyond  all  precedent.  At  the  Kettering  meeting, 
just  referred  to,  Mr.  Carey  had  signified  his  willingness  to  be- 
come the  first  to  adventure  himself  in  the  enterprise,  and  was 
accepted.  He  thus  alludes  to  this  solemn  fact,  in  a  letter  to 
his  father : 

'  Leicester,  Jan.  17th,  1793. 
'Dear  and  Honored  Father, 

*  The  importance  of  spending  our  time  for  God  alone,  is  the 
principal  theme  of  the  gospel.  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  says 
Paul,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  you  present  your  bodies  a 
living  sacrifice, — holy  and  acceptable,  which  is  your  reasonable 
service.  To  be  devoted,  like  a  sacrifice,  to  holy  uses,  is  the 
great  business  of  a  Christian,  pursuant  to  these  requisitions. 
I  consider  myself  as  devoted  to  the  service  of  God  alone,  and 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  43 

now  I  am  to  realize  my  professions.  I  am  appointed  to  go  to 
Bengal,  in  the  East  Lidies,  a  missionary  to  the  Hindoos.  1 
shall  have  a  colleague  who  has  been  there  five  or  six  years 
already,  and  who  understands  their  language.  They  are  the 
most  mild  and  inoffensive  people  in  all  the  world,  but  are 
enveloped  in  the  greatest  superstition,  and  in  the  grossest 
ignorance.  My  wife  and  family  will  stay  behind  at  present, 
and  will  have  sufficient  support  in  my  absence ;  or,  should 
they  choose  to  follow  me,  their  expenses  will  be  borne.  We 
are  to  leave  England  on  the  third  of  April  next.  I  hope,  dear 
father,  you  may  be  enabled  to  surrender  me  up  to  the  Lord 
for  the  most  arduous,  honorable,  and  important  work  that  ever 
any  of  the  sons  of  men  were  called  to  engage  in.  I  have 
many  sacrifices  to  make.  I  must  part  with  a  beloved  family, 
and  a  number  of  most  affectionate  friends.  Never  did  I  see 
such  sorrow  manifested  as  reigned  through  our  place  of  wor- 
ship last  Lord's  day.  But  I  have  set  my  hand  to  the  plough. 
'  I  remain,  your  dutiful  Son,  Wm.  Carey.' 

The  reader  may  be  tempted  to  smile  that  such  a  design 
should  be  commenced  with  a  contribution  of  thirteen  pounds 
two  shillings  and  sixpence  ;  but  he  must  view  it  as  an  earnest, 
by  which  the  depositors  pledged  themselves  to  more  ample 
exertions,  when  the  divine  hand  should  point  out  the  way  in 
which  they  could  be  available  for  the  purpose  they  contem- 
plated. Such  discovery  was  presently  made,  and  more  liberal 
donations  succeeded.  The  church  and  congregation  of  Can- 
non-street, Birmingham,  under  the  influence  of  their  eminent- 
ly zealous  minister,  Samuel  Pearce,  raised  the  sum  of  nearly 
one  hundred  pounds.  They  thus  became  examples  to  the 
whole  denomination,  and  showed  clearly  enough  that  the 
work  need  not  be  abandoned,  nor  long  postponed,  for  want  of 
pecuniary  help.  The  first  auxiliary  society  was  formed  by 
these  same  friends ;  and  from  the  commencement  of  the  Bap- 
tist mission  to  the  present  hour,  none  have  proved  more  steady 
in  their  adherence  to  its  interests,  or  more  uniformly  liberal  in 
its  support,  than  the  Christian  friends  at  Birmingham.  When 
the  desires  and  these  fu-st  movements  of  the  committee  be- 
came known  through  various  parts  of  the  kingdom,  they  were 
somewhat  encouraged  to  advance.     A  companion  to  Mr.  Carey 


44  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

soon  offered  himself.  The  circumstance  of  his  becoming  the 
correspondent  of  the  committee,  and  their  willing  servant  in 
this  work,  determined  also  the  sphere  of  their  labor.  The 
church  at  Leicester  listened  to  the  remonstrances  of  their 
minister,  and  his  compassionate  entreaty  for  the  heathen ;  and 
after  suitable  devotional  exercises,  surrendered  him  for  the 
work,  '  whereunto  the  Holy  Ghost  had  called  him.'  In  pre- 
vailing with  them  to  make  this  surrender,  he  reminded  them 
of  the  many  prayers  they  had  presented  to  God  of  late  years 
for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen ;  and  that  they  were  called 
upon  to  offer  an  appropriate  sacrifice  to  verify  the  sincerity 
of  their  devotions ;  and,  moreover,  that,  if  they  willingly  gave 
him  up,  he  felt  assured  the  blessing  of  God  would  attend  them. 
They  obeyed  the  call.  They  honored  God ;  and  he  has  hon- 
ored them  in  return.  With  the  exception  of  only  a  very  few 
years,  in  which  they  were  in  a  depressed  condition,  they  have 
been  attended  with  a  regularly  advancing  prosperity.  For 
twenty  years,  they  enjoyed  the  ministry  of  the  most  eloquent 
sacred  orator  in  Christendom.  Nor  have  the  labors  of  thek 
present  pastor  been  crowned  with  less  success  than  were 
those  of  his  predecessor.  The  house  of  worship,  since  Mr. 
Carey's  departure,  has  been  twice  considerably  enlarged ;  a 
secession  has  taken  place,  forming  a  second  respectable  and 
flourishing  interest ;  and  the  original  church  and  congregation 
are  both  more  numerous  and  more  united  than  ever  they 
were  before  known  to  be. 

The  first  and  highest  designation  of  a  Christian  minister 
respects  Christ  and  his  universal  cause ;  the  pastorate  of  a 
particular  church  is  a  thing  secondary  and  subordinate.  The 
obligation  involved  in  the  first  is  absolute  and  perpetual ;  that 
of  the  latter  is  voluntary,  casual,  and  precarious..  It  is  granted, 
that  the  relation  of  pastor  and  flock  is  too  solemn  and  too 
tenderly  interesting  to  be  assumed  and  dissolved  with  levity. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  easily  conceivable  that  pastors 
and  people,  from  motives  not  always  the  most  spiritual,  may 
be  so  wrapped  up  in  their  attachment  to  each  other,  as  to  be 
lamentably  insensible  to  the  more  catholic  claims  which  the 
cause  of  Christ  may  present  to  them. 

The  church  at  Leicester  having  generously  consented  to 
yield  up  their  pastor  for  foreign  labor,  and  this  infant  society 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  45 

being  somewhat  recruited  by  an  accession  to  its  numbers,  and 
an  augliientation  of  its  resources,  a  service  was  holden  there, 
to  set  apart  Mr.  Carey  and  Mr.  Thomas  his  colleague,  as  mis- 
sionaries to  the  heathen  world.  Their  passage  was  taken  on 
board  an  East  Indiaman  ;  and  they  proceeded  to  Ryde,  in  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  to  await  the  summons  for  embarkation.  The 
difficulties  and  disappointments  which  befell  them,  almost  to 
the  extinction  of  their  hopes  and  those  of  the  Society,  with 
the  singular  manner  in  which  they  were  surmounted,  await 
the  attention  of  the  reader  in  the  ensuing  chapter.  But  we 
shall  previously  offer  for  his  perusal  a  valuable  fragment  from 
the  hand  of  Mr.  Fuller,  entitled  '  an  attempt  at  a  memoir  of 
brother  Carey.'  That  the  respected  writer  conducted  it  to  no 
later  a  period  than  to  a  few  months  subsequent  to  his  arrival 
in  India,  will  be  regarded  with  unfeigned  regret. 

'  From  his  first  religious  concern,  his  mind  was  much  em- 
ployed in  obtaining  just  and  scriptural  sentiments.  He  thought 
the  notions  of  many  who  called  themselves  Calvinists,  but 
who  in  fact  were  hyper-Calvinists, — were,  in  various  important 
particulars,  unscriptural,  and  unfriendly  to  all  attempts  for  the 
conversion  of  sinners ;  and  as  to  Arminianism,  he  had  no 
leaning  that  way,  considering  it  as  subversive  of  the  doctrine 
of  grace.  He  therefore  endeavored  to  form  a  system  of  his 
own,  without  any  human  help ;  and  which  for  substance 
proved  the  same  with  that  of  the  ministers  with  whom  he 
afterwards  associated.  I  have  heard  him  say,  that  he  did  not 
recollect  to  have  received  his  views  of  divine  truth  from  any 
writer  or  preacher,  but  merely  from  reading  his  Bible ;  but 
that,  when  he  found  a  number  of  brethren  whose  sentiments 
and  feelings  accorded  with  his  own,  it  yielded  him  great  satis- 
faction. The  writings  of  president  Edwards  were  afterwards 
of  much  use  to  him ;  and  he  drank  in  the  leading  principles 
of  that  great  writer  with  approbation  and  delight. 

'While  he  was  at  Moulton,  the  congregation  being  few  and 
poor,  he  followed  his  business,  in  order  to  assist  in  supporting 
his  family.  His  mind,  however,  was  much  occupied  in  ac- 
quiring the  learned  languages,  and  almost  every  other  branch 
of  useful  knowledge.  I  remember,  on  going  into  the  room 
where  he  employed  himself  at  his  business,  [  saw  hanging  up 
against  the  wall  a  very  large  map,  consisting  of  several  sheets 


46  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

of  paper  pasted  together  by  himself,  on  which  he  had  drawn, 
with  a  pen,  a  place  for  every  nation  in  the  known  world,  and 
entered  into  it  whatever  he  met  with  in  reading,  relative  to  its 
population,  religion,  &c.  The  substance  of  this  was  after- 
wards published  in  his  '  Inquiry.' 

'  Those  researches,  on  which  his  mind  was  naturally  bent, 
hindered  him,  of  course,  from  doing  much  at  his  business;  and 
the  people,  as  was  said,  being  few  and  poor,  he  was  at  this 
time  exjjosed  to  great  hardships.  I  have  been  assured,  that  he 
and  his  family  have  lived  for  a  great  while  together  without 
tasting  animal  food,  and  with  but  a  scanty  pittance  of  other 
provision. 

'I  have  been  told  that,  about  this  time,  some  person  made 
him  a  present  of  a  folio  volume  m  Dutch,  and  that,  for  the  sake 
of  reading  it,  he  obtained  a  grammar,  and  learned  that  language. 
This  I  know,  that  soon  afterwards  a  Dutch  pamphlet  was  put 
mto  his  hand,  and  he  actually  translated  it,  and  made  a  present 
of  the  translation  to  me,  which  I  have  still  by  me. 

'  It  was  while  he  was  at  Moulton  that  he  wrote  the  manu- 
script which  was  afterwards  printed  under  the  title  of  'An  In- 
quu-y  into  the  Obligations  of  Christians  to  use  Means  for  the 
Conversion  of  the  Heathen.'  He  would  also  be  frequently  con- 
versing with  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  on  the  practicability 
and  importance  of  a  mission  to  the  heathen,  and  of  his  willing- 
ness to  engage  in  it.  At  several  ministers'  meetings,  between 
the  years  1787  and  1790,  this  was  the  topic  of  his  conversation. 
Some  of  oiu-  most  aged  and  respectable  ministers  thought,  I 
believe,  at  that  time,  that  it  was  a  wild  and  impracticable 
scheme  that  he  had  got  m  his  mind,  and  therefore  gave  him  no 
encouragement.  Yet  he  would  not  give  it  up ;  but  would  con- 
verse with  us,  one  by  one,  till  he  had  made  some  impression 
upon  us. 

'His  labors  at  Moulton,  notwithstanding  all  his  difficvdties, 
were  blessed  to  the  increase  of  the  church  and  congregation. 
Their  place  of  worship  was  rebuUt,  and  he  spared  no  pains  in 
assisting  his  congregation  to  get  through  the  expense  of  it. 
But,  after  all,  it  was  not  a  situation  suited  to  him,  either  for  ac- 
quiring or  imparting  knowledge. 

'  The  church  at  Leicester,  about  this  time,  was  sunk  into  a 
melancholy  state.     Antiuomianism,  both  in  principle  and  prac- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  47 

tice,  had  gained  the  ascendancy,  so  that  the  upright  part  of  the 
church  were  unable  to  make  any  effectual  resistance.  An  as- 
sociation of  ministers  and  churches  being  held  there  in  June, 
1787,  a  solemn  remonstrance  was  made  by  them  against  the 
corrupt  state  of  that  church.  The  consequence  was,  the  best 
part  of  them  took  courage,  and  some  of  the  principal  offenders 
were  separated.  Both  the  deacons  were  excluded  ;  and  Black- 
well,  the  pastor,  resigned.  They  were  now  supplied  by  the 
pastors  of  other  churches,  till  they  might  be  provided  with  a 
pastor  of  their  own.  Amongst  others,  Mr.  Carey  sometimes 
went  as  a  supply.  His  labors  being  acceptable,  and  it  being 
understood  that  his  usefulness,  as  well  as  his  comfort,  was 
much  confined  at  Moulton,  it  became  a  matter  of  consideration 
whether  he  should  be  invited  to  remove.  At  length  he  was  in- 
vited. After  carefully  weighmg  matters  on  both  sides,  he  wrote 
down  on  a  sheet  of  paper  his  own  thoughts  and  feelings,  both 
for  and  against  it,  and  gave  it  to  some  of  his  brethren  in  the 
ministry  for  advice.  In  this  paper,  I  well  remember,  there  was 
much  of  the  upright,  disinterested  man  of  God.  The  result 
was,  however,  that,  in  1788,  he  removed  to  Leicester. 

'  Soon  after  his  arrival,  he  paid  his  respects  to  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Robinson,  with  whom,  to  the  last,  he  maintained  a  good  under- 
standing. It  has  been  said,  though  I  do  not  recollect  to  have 
heard  Mr.  Carey  mention  it,  that  Mr.  R.,  in  that  conversation, 
asked  him  if  he  approved  of  Dissenting  ministers  getting  hear- 
ers from  those  churches  where  the  gospel  was  preached,  or,  as 
he  pleasantly  called  it,  sheep-stealing'^  To  this,  Mr.  C.  answer- 
ed, 'Mr.  R.,  I  am  a  Dissenter,  and  you  are  a  Churchman  ;  we 
must  each  endeavor  to  do  good  according  to  our  light.  At  the 
same  time  you  may  be  assured,  that  I  had  rather  be  the  instru- 
ment of  converting  a  scavenger  that  sweeps  the  streets,  than  of 
merely  proseljting  the  richest  and  best  characters  in  your  con- 
gregation.' 

'  On  looking  into  the  state  of  the  church,  he  soon  found  that 
antinomianism  had  taken  deep  root  in  it,  and  that  many  who 
stood  as  members  were  unworthy  of  a  place  in  the  house  of 
God.  After  some  attempts  at  purgation,  which  he  found  dif- 
ficult if  not  impossible  to  accomplish,  he,  with  the  advice  of  the 
best  members,  proposed  their  dissolving  their  church  relationship, 
and  beginning  anew.     This  proposal  was  acceded  to.     They  did 


48  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

not,  however,  refuse  any  one  who  had  been  a  member  before ; 
but  merely  required  the  signature  of  a  declaration  that  they  ivere 
willing  and  determined  to  keep  up,  in  future,  a  strict  and  faithful  dis- 
cipline, according  to  the  JVeiv  Testament,  let  it  affect  whom  it  might. 
This  requisition  answered  the  end.  A  considerable  number  of 
loose  characters  kept  back,  who  of  course  were,  after  a  time, 
declared  by  the  church  to  be  no  longer  members.  Thus  the 
church  was  in  a  manner  renovated.  Days  of  fasting  and  prayer 
were  set  apart,  in  which  there  was  much  of  a  spirit  of  importu- 
nity and  brotherly  love;  and  regular  prayer-meetings  were 
constantly  and  well  attended. 

'  The  party  who  refused  to  renew  covenant,  however,  became 
Mr.  Carey's  deadly  enemies.  They  reproached  him  as  a  man 
who  did  not  preach  the  gospel ;  and  when  he  was  ordained  pastor, 
one  of  them,  more  bold  than  the  rest,  threatened,  when  the 
members  should  hold  up  their  hands,  to  make  a  public  protest 
against  the  proceedings  of  the  day.  When  he  came  to  the 
trial,  however,  his  heart  seems  to  have  failed  him,  as  he  made 
no  opposition.  Yet  they  gave  Mr.  Carey  much  trouble,  and  on 
some  occasions  his  mind  was  greatly  dejected.  At  the  associa- 
tion at  Olney,  in  June,  1790,  he  appeared  to  be  distressed  be- 
yond measure  with  the  trials  of  his  situation.  By  degrees, 
however,  the  people  of  that  description  left  him  and  his  friends 
to  themselves,  and  have  ever  since  had  preachers  after  their 
own  heart.  He  also  rose  in  esteem  superior  to  the  influence  of 
detraction. 

'  His  zeal  and  unremitted  labors  in  preaching  the  word,  not 
only  in  Leicester,  but  in  the  villages  near  it,  wherever  he  could 
have  access,  endeared  him  to  the  friends  of  religion ;  and  his 
thirst  for  learning  rendered  him  respected  in  others.  He  has 
sometimes  regretted  his  want  of  early  education :  '  I  was  so  rus- 
ticated (he  would  say)  when  a  lad,  that  I  am  as  if  I  could  never 
recover  myself.'  Yet  the  natural  energies  of  his  mind,  accom- 
panied as  they  were  with  a  generous,  manly,  and  open  disj)osi- 
tion,  together  with  an  ingratiating  behavior  towards  men  of 
every  degree,  soon  rendered  him  respected,  not  only  by  those 
who  attended  his  ministry,  but  by  many  other  persons  of  learn- 
ing and  opulence.  Dr.  Arnold,  who  had  a  large  and  valuable 
library,  desired  him  to  make  what  use  of  it  he  pleased.  Others 
esteemed  his  acquaintance  on  account  of  his  taste  for  botany, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  49 

as  has  been  the  case  since  he  has  been  m India:  but  though  he 
has  indulged  occasionally  in  such  pursuits,  they  do  not  appear 
to  have  diverted  him  from  the  chief  end  of  his  life;  but  rather 
to  have  been  made  subservient  to  it.  They  have  been  his 
amusement,  by  which  he  occasionally  mibent  his  mind,  that  he 
might  return  to  his  proper  employment  with  renewed  vigor. 

'So  fully  had  the  troubles  and  divisions  of  the  cluu'ch  subsi- 
ded, that  when,  in  the  year  1792,  he  entertained  thoughts  of 
engaging  as  a  missionary  to  Hindostan,  the  idea  of  parting  be- 
came a  serious  trial  to  both  him  and  them.  There  were  per- 
sons, indeed,  who,  being  strangers  to  all  great  and  disinterested 
feeUngs  themselves,  insinuated  that  Mr.  Carey  was  unhappy  in 
his  connections,  and  therefore  wished  to  quit  the  kingdom  to  get 
rid  of  them :  but  neither  was  he  unhappy  with  his  people,  nor 
they  with  him.  Perhaps  there  never  was  a  time  in  which  part- 
ing would  have  been  so  great  a  trial ;  yet,  incredible  as  it  may 
appear  to  some,  they  were  both  willing  to  part !  He  had  taught 
the  church  to  regard  the  general  increase  of  Christ's  kingdom 
above  their  own  interest  as  individuals,  or  as  a  congregation, 
and  he  had  not  taught  them  in  vain.     But  to  return. 

'At  the  Clipstone  Easter  meeting  of  ministers,  of  1791,  the 
two  sermons  that  were  preached  wore  an  aspect  towards  a 
mission  among  the  heathen.  The  first  was  from  Hab.  i,  2,  3 : 
'  This  people  say  the  time  is  not  come,  the  time  that  the  Lord's  house 
should  he  built,''  ^'C.  The  other  was  from  1  Kings  xix,  10 :  '  / 
have  been  very  jealous  for  the  Lord  Godofhosts.'' 

'  After  worship,  Mr.  Carey,  who  was  present,  and  most  inter- 
ested in  the  discourses,  moved  that  something  should  be  that 
day  agreed  upon,  relative  to  the  formation  of  a  society  for  pro- 
pagating the  gospel  among  the  heathen.  The  other  ministers  had, 
it  is  true,  been  in  a  manner  compelled  to  think  of  the  subject,  by 
his  repeatedly  advancing  it,  and  they  became  desirous  of  it,  if 
it  could  be  accomplished ;  but  feeling  the  difficulty  of  setting 
out  in  an  unbeaten  path,  their  minds  revolted  at  the  idea  of  at- 
tempting it.  It  seemed  to  them  something  too  great,  and  too 
much  like  grasping  at  an  object  utterly  beyond  their  reach. 
However,  partly  to  satisfy  brother  Carey,  and  partly  to  gain 
time,  they  recommended  him  to  revise  his  manuscript  on  the 
subject,  and  to  print  it.  This  measure,  they  observed,  would 
serve  to  sound  the  mmds  of  the  religious  public.     This  propo- 


50  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

sal  was  complied  with,  and  the  manuscript  was  prepared  for 
the  press,  and,  in  1792, printed,  under  the  title  of  'An  Inquiry 
into  the  Obligations  of  Christians  to  use  Means  for  the  Conver- 
sion of  the  Heathen.'  At  the  Oakliam  association,  in  June, 
1791,  the  two  sermons  also  that  had  been  delivered  at  the 
Clipstone  ministers'  meeting,  were  requested  to  be  printed. 

'About  this  time  Mr.  Carey  paid  a  visit  to  Birmingham, 
where  he  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Pearce.  In  him  he 
found  a  warm  and  fast  friend,  who  entered  into  his  views  with 
all  his  heart.  Some  of  Mr.  Pearce's  friends  also  encouraged 
Mr.  Carey  to  go  forward,  with  the  promise  of  every  kind  of 
support  that  was  within  the  compass  of  their  power. 

'At  the  Nottingham  association,  in  June,  1792,  Mr.  Carey 
preached  from  Isaiah  liv,  2,  3 :  '  Enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent^ 
and  let  them  stretch  foHh  the  curtains  of  thine  habitations :  spare 
not,  lengthen  thy  cords,  and  strengthen  thy  stakes ;  for  thou  shall 
hreak  forth  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left ;  and  thy  seed  shall 
inherit  the  Gentiles,  and  make  the  desolate  cities  to  he  inhabited.^ 
After  observing,  by  way  of  introduction,  that  the  church  was 
here  compared  to  a  poor  desolate  widow,  who  lived  alone  in  a 
small  tent ;  that  she  who  had  thus  lived  in  a  manner  childless, 
was  told  to  expect  an  increase  in  her  family,  such  as  would 
require  a  much  larger  dwelling ;  and  this  because  her  Maker 
was  her  husband,  whose  name  was  not  only  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  but  the  God  of  the  whole  earth ;  he 
proceeded  to  take  up  the  spirit  of  the  passage  in  two  exliorta- 
tions,  which  he  addressed  to  his  brethren:  1.  Expect  great 
things  from  God ;  2.  Attempt  great  things  for  God.  The  dis- 
course was  very  animated  and  impressive.  After  it  was  con- 
cluded, the  ministers  resolved  that,  at  the  next  Kettering  min- 
isters' meeting,  on  the  first  of  October  of  the  same  year,  the 
plan  of  a  society  should  be  brought  forward,  and,  if  found  prac- 
ticable, a  society  formed. 

'  At  the  Kettering  meeting,  brother  Carey  was  present ;  and 
after  the  public  services  of  the  day  were  over,  the  ministers 
withdrew  into  a  private  room,  and  there,  in  a  solemn  vow 
pledged  themselves  to  God  and  one  another,  as  a  society,  to 
make  at  least  an  attempt  for  carrying  the  gospel  somewhere 
into  the  heathen  world.  A  committee  was  chosen,  and  Mr. 
Carey  was  a  member  of  it. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  51 

'  The  events  which  succeeded,  in  which  Mr.  Carey  bore  a 
principal  part,  and  how  he  became  united  with  Mr.  John  Tho- 
mas, in  a  mission  to  Bengal  in  the  following  spring,  are  already 
before  the  public,  in  the  first  number  of  the  periodical  accounts, 
which  therefore  it  would  be  superfluous  to  repeat.  I  sliall  only 
take  a  review  of  certain  particulars  of  his  conduct  in  this 
important  undertaking,  which  have  hitherto  been  but  little 
known. 

'He  seemed,  in  this  undertaking,  to  have  his  work  before  him,, 
and  to  possess  almost  a  foresight  of  the  issues  of  things.  In 
his  Inquiry,  he  wrote  as  if  all  denominations  of  Christians  were 
to  be  stirred  up  to  the  same  efforts,  and  expresses  his  judg- 
ment of  what  should  be  their  conduct.  He  also,  a  little  before 
he  went,  saw  Mr.  Ward,  who  was  then  a  pious  youth,  and  by 
trade  a  printer.  'We  shall  want  you,'  said  he,  'in  a  few  years, 
to  print  the  Bible :  you  must  come  after  us.'  And  these  few 
words,  as  Mr.  W.  has  confessed,  so  remained  on  his  mind,  that 
he  could  never  forget  them. 

'  When  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  engage  in  missionary 
labors,  he  expected  Mrs.  Carey  and  his  family  to  accompany 
him ;  but  to  this  she  was  for  a  long  time  utterly  averse.  This 
was  a  heavy  trial  to  him,  and  to  the  society,  who  could  not  but 
foresee  that,  though  men  are  allowed  to  leave  their  wives  and 
families  for  a  time  in  mercantile  and  military  expeditions  ;  yet, 
in  religion,  there  would  not  only  be  a  great  outcry  against  it 
from  worldly  men,  but  even  many  religious  people,  who  had 
thought  but  little  on  the  subject,  would  join  in  the  general 
censure.  He  determined,  however,  to  go ;  and  if  Mrs.  C.  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  accompany  him,  he  would  take  his  eldest 
son  with  him,  and  leave  the  rest  of  his  family  under  the  care 
of  the  society.  She  might  afterwards  be  persuaded  to  follow 
him ;  or,  if  not,  he  could  but  return,  after  having  made  the  trial, 
and  ascertained  in  some  measin*e  the  practicability  of  the  un- 
dertaking. Under  these  circumstances  he  went  aboard  a  ship 
for  Bengal.  But  when  they  were  just  ready  to  sail,  it  was  un- 
derstood that  his  going  out  in  one  of  the  Company's  ships, 
without  expressly  stating  his  object,  and  obtaining  their  con- 
sent, was  illegal  and  dangerous.  He  and  his  colleague  were 
therefore  both  obliged  to  quit  their  places.  On  tliis,  they  both 
made  another  visit  to  Mrs.  Carey  (who  was  then  at  Piddington) 


52  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

renewing  their  persuasions  for  her  to  accompany  them.  At 
length,  her  sister  (now  Mrs.  Sliort)  agreeing  to  go  with  her, 
she  consented;  and  a  Danish  ship  passing  by  soon  after,  they 
all  took  a  passage  in  her.  Thus  the  Lord  prevented  their  de- 
parture in  the  first  instance,  that  Mr.  Carey's  family  might 
accompany  him,  and  that  all  reproaches  on  that  score  might  be 
prevented. 

'  It  was  afterwards  objected,  that  their  going  to  settle  in  the 
British  territories  without  the  permission  of  the  directors, 
though  in  a  foreign  ship,  was  after  all  illegal  and  dangerous ; 
but  to  this  it  is  replied,  the  apostles  and  primitive  ministers 
were  commanded  to  go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  every  creature  ;  nor  were  they  to  stop  for  the  permission 
of  any  power  upon  earth ;  but  to  go,  and  take  the  consequen- 
ces. If  a  man  of  God,  conscious  of  having  nothing  in  his  heart 
unfriendly  to  any  civil  government  whatever,  but  determined 
in  all  civil  matters  to  obey  and  teach  obedience  to  the  powers 
that  are,  put  his  life  in  his  hand,  saying,  'I  will  go,  and  if  I  am 

persecuted  in  one  city,  I  will  flee  to  another,' whatever 

the  wisdom  of  this  world  may  decide  upon  his  conduct,  he 
will  assuredly  be  acquitted,  and  more  than  acquitted,  at  a  high- 
er tribunal.' 


CHAPTER   II. 


SECTION  I. 

REVIEW    OF  DIFFICULTIES  ATTENDING    THE    COMMENCEMENT    OF 

THE     BAPTIST     MISSION REJECTION     OF     THE      MISSIONARIES 

FROM  THE  EARL  OF  OXFORD,  AND  THE  CONSTERNATION  IT 
OCCASIONED THE  REVIVAL  OF  THEIR  HOPES,  AND  THEIR  RE- 
EMBARKATION  UNDER  CIRCUMSTANCES  MORE  PROPITIOUS. 

The  projectors  of  the  Baptist  Mission  commenced  their 
design  amidst  unusual  discouragements.  The  reader  has  al- 
ready seen  how  very  slender  were  then*  resources.  But  this 
was  the  least  of  the  many  adverse  circumstances  with  which 
they  had  to  contend.  No  principal  denomination  had  at  that 
time  entered  the  field.  And,  not  having  originated  any  plan  of 
foreign  labor  themselves,  it  was,  perhaps,  more  than  could 
reasonably  be  expected,  that  they  should  look  with  unmingied 
complacency  upon  one  launched  by  an  inferior  body ;  or  that 
they  should  contribute  materially  to  augment  its  funds.  A 
long,  querulous,  and  crabbed  letter  is  yet  extant,  from  a  gentle- 
man in  one  of  the  midland  counties,  expostulating  with  Mr. 
Fuller  upon  the  impropriety  of  making  such  a  work  a  denom- 
inational undertaking,  and  the  sort  of  sentimental  absurdity, 
which  he  discerned  and  felt  very  tenderly,  of  commencing 
labors  and  exhausting  resources  in  distant  countries,  while  so 
much  remained  to  be  effected  at  home.  Such  objections,  it 
may  be,  are  not  utterly  extinct  to  the  present  day.  But  those 
who  entertain  them,  upon  the  first  head,  would  do  well  to  ask 
themselves,  whether  they  are  prepared  to  maintain  perpetual 
and  perfect  silence,  as  to  those  views  of  truth  and  forms  of  duty 
which  distinguish  that  portion  of  the  church  to  which  they 
pertain  from  every  other  ?  If  they  hesitate  at  this,  they  should 
cease  to  expect  the  sacrifice  in  others.  But,  suj^pose  they 
6* 


54  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

willingly  consent  to  bate  whatever  is  peculiar  to  their  own 
body,  and  should  succeed  in  prevailing  upon  all  their  fellow- 
Christians  to  adopt  the  same  determination,  what  advantage 
would  accrue  to  the  world  from  such  an  achievement  ?     Must 
not  some  portion  of  truth  be  sacrificed,  and  some  matter  of 
positive  obedience  be  neglected  ?     Or  will  it  be   contended, 
that  no  part  of  the  Christian  church  either  believes  or  practises 
correctly ;  or,  that  it  is  a  less  evil,  in  things  holden  to  be  non- 
essential, absolutely  and  totally  to  neglect,  than  involuntarily 
and  partially  to  err.     It  is  far  better  for  Christians  to  promulge 
the  truth  of  Christ,  according  to  their  own  conceptions,  and  to 
inculcate  obedience  to  his   authority  agreeably  to  their  own 
views,  than  to  speculate  upon  a  Catholicism  incompatible  with 
their  present  circumstances  to  realize.     Nor  is  it  likely  that 
the  heathen,  or  those  converted  from  amongst  them,  would  be 
half  so  stumbled  at  witnessing  any  diversity  in  the  external 
modes  of  Christian  practice,  as  they  would  at  the  detection  of 
any  designed  neglect  or  concerted  scheme  of  compromise.     As 
the  efforts  of  all  devout  persons  will  be  regulated  much  more 
by  those  truths  and  principles  which  are  deemed  of  essential 
and  universal  interest,  than  by  any  distinguishing  peculiarities; 
so  will  there  be  unsjieakably  more  in  the  general  results  of 
their  labor  in  Avhich  to  rejoice,  than  of  denominational  pecu- 
liarity against  which  to  except.     It  is  better  to  become  at  once 
auxiliary  to  an  attempt  at  effecting  some  immediate  and  sub- 
stantial good,  made,  as  we  suppose,  with  some  attendant  im- 
perfection and  error,  than  to  speculate  ever  so  sincerely  upon 
schemes  of  union,  or  entertain  ourselves  and  the  world  with 
mere  hjpotheses  of  agreement  and  coalition,  until  life  is  wast- 
ed, and  our  opportunities  for  usefulness  retire.     Our  Christian 
love  cannot  desire  more  appropriate  or  ample  exjDression  than 
is  suggested  to  us  in  the  prayer  of  the  apostle  :     '  Grace  be  with 
all  them  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.'     Nor 
ought  we  to  expect  fellowship   with    other  Christians  upon 
terms  different  from  those  intimated  in  another  passage,  where 
our  zeal  and  our  love  are  solicited  at  once  into  fervent  action, 
and   chastised  into   forbearing   tenderness.     'Whereunto   we 
have  already  attained,  let  us  walk  by  the  same  rule,  let  us  mind 
the  same  thing :  and,  if  in  any  thing  ye  be  otherwise  minded, 
God  shall  reveal  even  this  unto  you.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  55 

It  is  also  equally  incorrect,  and,  it  is  to  be  feared,  far  more 
disingenuous,  to  entertain  with  repugnance,  or  treat  with  indif- 
ference, a  project  for  conveying  the  gospel  to  distant  nations, 
because  much  corresponding  labor  is  in  requisition  at  home. 
It  is  of  far  greater  importance  to  commence  such  labors,  than 
accurately  to  resolve  the  comparative  claims  of  different  lati- 
tudes of  the  globe  to  become  their  primary  scene.  The  '  great 
salvation'  is  the  patrimony  of  the  world ;  and  every  portion  of 
the  human  race,  accessible  to  Christian  agency,  is  equally  eligi- 
ble to  its  mercies.  The  early  dispensers  of  the  gospel  did  not 
tarry  in  one  region  until  all  its  population  received  it.  Some, 
it  is  confessed,  were  driven  from  their  native  province  by  the 
terror  and  force  of  persecution ;  but  others  risked  the  perils  of 
a  missionary  life,  amongst  remote  and  even  barbarous  tribes, 
from  the  purest  charity  to  the  souls  of  men.  Nor  is  it  suppo- 
sable,  that  the  devotion  indispensable  to  originate,  and  keep  in 
vigorous  movement,  a  system  of  exertion  and  sacrifice  such  as 
foreign  missions  require,  should  be  long  prosecuted  without 
producing  a  decisively  salutary  influence  at  home.  That '  love 
of  Christ,'  which  constrains  a  tender  and  obedient  heart,  is  too 
impatient  to  effect  the  good  it  meditates,  to  be  holden  in  arrest, 
until  a  cautious,  calculating,  secular  wisdom,  has  formed  its 
decisions ;  and  too  deferential  to  supreme  authority,  to  regard 
them  when  enunciated.  A  prudential  worldly  man,  aye,  and 
many  a  '  sober'  Christian,  may  deem  the  votary  of  such  a  prin- 
ciple to  be  '  beside  himself;'  whilst  he,  conscious  of  no  desire 
but  to  please  God,  is  content  to  appeal  from  the  judgment  of 
men  to  His.  '  If  we  be  beside  ourselves,  it  is  to  God.'  It  is 
too  often  assumed  that  men,  fervent  and  prompt,  must  be  in- 
discreet ;  and  that  those  of  cool  temperament  and  slow  move- 
ment must  be  wise.  But  what  hinders  the  combination  of  a 
feeling  heart  with  a  bright,  sound,  and  discriminating  intelli- 
gence ?  And  why  should  we  deem  it  conclusive,  that  the  man 
who  cannot  feel,  must  therefore  think  profoundly  and  judge 
rightly  ?  Must  the  noblest  nature  on  earth  be  the  least  of  all 
consistent  with  itself,  and  be  destined  to  so  great  an  absurdity, 
as  to  present  its  main  attributes  in  necessary  and  ceaseless 
hostility  ?  If  a  fair  liistory  of  our  moral  nature  could  be  exhib- 
ited, it  would  perhaps  be  found  that  the  most  feeling  men 
were  the  most  reflecting.     The  very  attention  they  give  to 


56  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

great  and  benevolent  objects  renders  them  vigilant  observers 
of  providential  occurrences,  and  anxious  to  adopt  the  most 
promising  means  for  compassing  them. 

The  sensibilities  of  a  Christian  heart  being  once  excited, 
they  will  be  easily  provoked  into  new^  and  further  develop- 
ments, and  wrought  to  higher  intensity,  as  legitimate  occasions 
are  supplied.  More  than  half  the  popular  charities  of  this 
kingdom  have  been  devised  and  brought  into  active  operation 
since  foreign  missions  commenced  ;  and  the  wealth  by  which 
they  are  replenished,  is  derived  principally  from  the  same 
source.  But,  persons  who  demur  at  contributing  to  evangel- 
izing the  heathen  abroad,  because,  as  they  allege,  '  they  have 
heathen  at  home '  will  be  found  to  be  those  to  whom  these 
'  heathen  at  home '  are  least  of  all  indebted.  When  makmg 
some  slight  effort  a  few  years  ago  in  Philadelphia,  in  behalf  of 
'  female  schools  in  India,'  a  department  of  missionary  labor 
then  of  recent  origin,  those  who  met  me  with  rigid  mien,  de- 
claring they  could  not  consistently,  nor  in  conscience,  divert 
their  benevolence  into  a  foreign  channel,  while  so  much  re- 
mained unaccomplished  at  home,  I  found  very  seldom  dis- 
turbed the  repose  of  their  own  vicinity  by  their  labors  or  their 
donations;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  those  who  wished 
'God-speed'  to  my  distant  object,  were  known  to  respond 
most  freely,  and  to  give  lilce  princes  to  every  domestic  claim, 
whether  civil  or  religious.  A  gentleman  who  had  been  con- 
spicuous in  aiding  a  missionaiy  collection,  was  met  the  follow- 
ing day  by  one  of  dissimilar  habits,  who  chided  him  for  the 
absurd  eccentricity  of  which  he  deemed  him  guilty,  in  giving 
to  such  an  object,  and  in  such  profusion.  It  was  preposter- 
ous, he  said,  to  be  sending  heaps  of  money  abroad,  to  be  spent, 
no  one  knew  how,  while  there  were  so  many  unemployed 

stanang  poor  in .     '  I  will  give  £ to  the  poor  of , 

if  you  will  give  an  equal  sum,'  said  the  Christian  friend.  '  I  did 
not  mean  that,'  replied  the  objector.  '  But,'  continued  he,  '  if 
you  must  go  from  home,  why  so  far  ?     Think  of  the  miserable 

poor  of  Ireland.'     '  I  will  give  £ to  the  poor  of  Ireland,  if 

you  will  do  the  same.'  *  I  did  not  mean  that,  either,'  was  the 
reply.  No,  it  is  neither  this  nor  that,  which  this  class  of  ob- 
jectors exactly  mean ;  but,  simply  to  veil  their  criminal  parsi- 
mony by  excepting  against  the  proceedings  of  liberal  men. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  57 

whom,  if  they  could  not  condemn,  they  must,  for  very  shame, 
in  some  degree  imitate. 

In  the  Baptist  denomination  itself  there  were  strong  difficul- 
ties to  encounter.  Many,  from  the  doctrinal  views  they  had 
embraced,  were  deeply  prejudiced  against  all  missionary  la- 
bors. Others  objected,  or  held  back  from  directly  giving  en- 
couragement, or  sharing  in  the  responsibility,  from  prudential 
considerations.  The  project  arose  in  an  obscure  part  of  the 
kingdom,  and  among  brethren,  at  that  time,  but  little  celebra- 
ted. The  scene  chosen  on  which  first  to  assay  it,  was  remote, 
and  but  little  known.  To  reach  and  occupy  it  would  of  course 
be  very  expensive  ;  whilst  the  issue  was  doubtful.  To  make 
such  an  attempt  and  fail,  must  incur  disappointment,  and  per- 
haps dishonor.  They  were  not  disposed  to  commit  them- 
selves, and  to  compromise  the  denomination  to  a  mere  experi- 
ment. Of  all  the  metropolitan  ministers,  only  one,  it  appears, 
was  of  a  different  mind ;  and  when  a  meeting  was  liolden  in 
the  city,  to  consider  the  propriety  of  forming  a  Society  auxil- 
iary to  the  one  originated  in  Northamptonshire,  the  proposi- 
tion was  negatived  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  a  very 
respectable  and  pious  gentleman,  nominated  to  receive  sub- 
scriptions, was  not  induced  to  accept  the  office.  I  have  heard 
Dr.  Carey,  notwithstanding,  speak  with  gratitude  of  the  per- 
sonal respect  with  which  he  was  treated,  both  by  Dr.  Stennett 
and  the  venerable  Abraham  Booth.  He  also,  when  in  Lon- 
don, made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Newton,  who  advised  him 
with  the  fidelity  and  tenderness  of  a  father ;  and  encouraged 
him  to  persevere  in  his  purpose,  despite  of  all  opposition. 
'  What,'  says  Mr.  Carey,  '  if  the  Company  should  send  us  home 
upon  our  arrival  in  Bengal  ? '  '  Then  conclude,'  said  he,  '  that 
your  Lord  has  nothing  there  for  you  to  accomplish.  But,  if 
he  have,  no  power  on  earth  can  hinder  you.' 

The  reader  is  already  apprised  that  Mr.  Carey  was  proceed- 
ing to  embark  for  Lidia  without  his  wife.  All  persuasions 
to  induce  Mrs.  Carey  to  accompany  him,  at  present,  were 
utterly  vain.  To  resign  her  eldest  son,  Felix,  was  the  utmost 
to  which  her  consent  could  be  obtained.  His  mind  was  ir- 
revocably fixed  upon  the  mission,  whatever  pain,  or  perplexity, 
or  odium  the  pursuit  of  it  might  involve.  Some  will  find  it 
difficult  to  award  their  approbation  to  his  conduct.     But,  to 


58  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

judge  accurately,  we  must  do  our  best  to  realize  his  circum- 
stances. The  conviction,  that  it  was  his  duty  to  go  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  the  heathen,  unless  an  absolute  physical  impos- 
sibility should  present  itself,  was,  in  his  judgment,  as  impera- 
tive as  that  of  discipleship  itself  He  could  as  soon  cease  to 
be  a  Christian,  in  other  words,  as  he  could  consent  to  relin- 
quish his  purpose  of  discipling  some  portion  of  the  idolatrous 
world  to  Christ.  As  to  the  piety  and  integrity  of  the  proce- 
dure, none  who  knew  him  entertained  the  shadow  of  a  doubt; 
the  wisdom  of  it  was  a  secondary  matter,  capable  of  distinct 
consideration,  and  upon  which  different  parties  might  pro- 
nounce differently,  as  they  were  able  to  appreciate  the  mo- 
tives of  the  individual,  and  according  to  the  estimation  in  which 
they  held  his  design.  Subsequent  occurrences,  as  the  reader 
will  presently  see,  resolved  this  dilemma.  It  may  be  just  to 
remark,  however,  in  passing,  that  it  was  his  full  determination  to 
return  to  England  when  the  mission  should  have  obtained  a 
footing,  hoping  that  he  might  then  persuade  Mrs.  Carey  to  re- 
turn with  him,  as  it  might  seem  to  her  less  perilous  than  it 
was  to  adventure  at  first,  when  the  path  was  untrodden. 

Another  difficulty  arose  out  of  the  circumstances  of  his 
companion.  He  was  in  pecuniary  embarrassment;  and, 
though  he  candidly  avowed  this  in  a  very  early,  if  not  the  first, 
of  his  communications  to  the  committee,  it  yet  proved  to  be 
of  more  serious  inconvenience  than  they  seemed  to  be  then 
aware  of  Mr.  Thomas  was  brought  up  to  the  medical  profes- 
sion ;  and,  for  some  years,  practised  in  London.  '  But  finding 
it,'  as  he  expressed  himself,  '  more  easy  to  give  than  to  obtain 
credit,'  he  was  compelled  to  sell  all  off,  and  wait  in  lodgings 
until  an  offer  was  made  him  of  going  to  Bengal  as  surgeon,  in 
one  of  the  honorable  Company's  ships,  in  1783,  which  he  ac- 
cepted. In  1785,  he  returned  to  London,  was  received  into 
church-fellowship  by  Dr.  Stennett,  and,  soon  after,  began  to 
exercise  his  talent  as  a  preacher.  In  1786,  he  again  proceeded 
to  India,  when  he  ma  ^  the  acquaintance  of  some  pious  Epis- 
copalians, who,  witne  g  his  fervent  piety  and  'aptness  to 
teach,'  prevailed  upon  ^  to  remain  in  India,  engaging  to 
contribute  to  his  suppoi .,  liile  he  should  be  making  the  ac- 
quisition of  the  language,  and  communicating,  as  he  might  be 
able,  the  gospel  to  the  natives.    He  also  labored  hard  in  at- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  59 

tempting  to  translate  the  New  Testament  into  the  Bengali 
language.  In  the  course  of  two  or  three  years  he  and  his 
friends  separated  their  connexion.  Upon  this  he  revisited 
England,  designing,  should  he  be  able,  to  realize  sufficient 
encouragement  from  the  religious  public,  to  return  to  Bengal, 
and  spend  the  residue  of  his  life  as  a  missionary.  His  attempt 
to  compass  this  object,  and  the  formation  of  the  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  Northamptonshire,  were  consentaneous 
events,  which,  becoming  known  to  the  respective  parties,  Mr. 
Thomas  relinquished  his  purpose  of  forming  any  distinct 
agency  on  his  own  account,  and  became  the  Society's  mission- 
ary. This  arrangement  becoming  known  to  Mr.  Thomas's 
former  creditors,  one  of  them  came  to  Ryde,  while  the  mis- 
sionaries were  there  awaiting  the  summons  of  embarkation,  to 
enforce  his  claims.  Mr.  Thomas  was  out  when  the  unwel- 
come visiter  made  his  appearance  for  this  purpose.  His  com- 
panion was,  as  it  may  be  supposed,  in  no  small  measure 
annoyed  at  the  occurrence. 

But  another  disaster  followed,  far  more  withering  to  his 
hopes.  The  missionaries,  having  obeyed  the  summons  for 
embarkation,  and  gotten  their  baggage  on  board,  an  anonymous 
letter  was  received  by  the  captain,  admonishing  him  at  his 
peril  to  proceed  with  persons  unlicensed  by  the  Company. 
They  were  forthwith  compelled  to  disembark.  The  anxiety 
and  desolation  which  seized  the  mind  of  Mr.  Carey  cannot  be 
described.  The  strong  sturdy  heart  of  Mr.  Fuller  upon  this 
intelligence  sunk  within  him.  The  feelings  of  each  of  them 
are  best  conveyed  in  their  own  words. 

'  Ryde,  May  21,  m. 
'My  very  dear  Friend, 

'  I  have  just  time  to  inform  you  that  all  our  plans  are  entire- 
ly frustrated  for  the  present.  On  account  of  the  irregular 
manner  of  our  going  out,  an  information  is  laid  against  the 
captain  (I  suppose  by  one  of  Mr.  T.'s  o '-editors)  for  taking  a 
person  on  board  without  an  order  frc  ;;he  Company.  The 
person  not  being  specified,  both  he,  jd  myself,  and  another 
passenger,  are  ordered  to  quit  the  .p,  and  I  am  just  go'ng  to 
take  all  my  things  out. 

'  Our  venture  must  go,  or  it  will  be  seized  by  the  Custom 


60  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

house  officers.  Mrs.  Thomas  and  daughter  go.  I  know  not 
how  to  act,  but  will  write  you  more  particularly  as  soon  as  I 
get  to  some  settled  place.  I  leave  the  island  to-day  or  to-mor- 
row, and  on  Thursday  the  ship  sails  without  us.  All  I  can  say 
m  this  affair  is,  that  however  mysterious  the  leadings  of  Provi- 
dence are,  I  have  no  doubt  but  they  are  superintended  by  an 
infinitely  wise  God. 

'  I  have  no  time  to  say  more.  Mr.  T.  is  gone  to  London 
again  on  the  business.     Adieu. 

'Yours,  affectionately,  W.  Carey.' 

Mr.  Fuller  transmitted  the  foregoing  letter  to  Dr.  Ryland, 
and  ^vi-ote  on  it  as  follows : 

'  Kettering,  May  2ith. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'  Perhaps  Carey  has  written  to  you — We  are  all  undone — I 
am  grieved — yet,  perhaps  'tis  best — Thomas's  debts  and  em- 
branglements  damped  my  pleasure  before — Perhaps  'tis  best 
he  should  not  go — I  am  afraid  leave  will  never  be  obtained 
now  for  Carey,  or  any  other — And  the  adventure  seems  to  be 
lost — He  says  nothing  of  the  £250  for  voyage — 'Tis  well  if 
that  be  not  lost — Yours,  ever,  A.  F.' 

Mr.  Carey  and  his  companion  returned  to  London,  depres- 
sed and  almost  overwhelmed  with  their  disappointment.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  days,  however,  the  scene  began  to  brighten, 
and  their  spirits  to  rally.  The  elasticity  of  Mr.  Thomas's 
mind,  his  alacrity  and  enterprise,  and  the  self-denial  he  mani- 
fested at  this  trying  juncture,  were  astonishing,  and  justly 
entitled  him  to  the  grateful  remembrance  of  all  who  feel  an 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  this  mission.  And  so  speedy  and 
evidently  propitious  were  the  interpositions  of  Providence, 
that  before  the  various  friends  of  the  institution  could  well  be 
apprised  of  this  apparent  frustration  of  their  counsels  and 
their  hopes,  they  saw  it  resolved  into  one  of  the  most  bene- 
ficial dispensations  that  could  have  been  conceived  of,  circum- 
stanced as  it  then  was.  Immediately  a  ship  is  heard  of,  bound 
to  Bengal,  under  a  foreign  flag,  and  therefore  not  subject  to 
the  control  of  the  Company.     Mrs.  Carey,  too,  contrary  to  all 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  61 

expectation,  is  prevailed  upon  to  accompany  her  husband.  A 
passage  is  secured  on  most  advantageous  terms ;  and,  in  a  few 
days,  after  being  forcibly  rejected  from  the  Earl  of  Oxford, 
they  re-embark,  and  actually  set  sail  for  the  distant  East. 

These  remarkable  circumstances  are  vividly  detailed  by  Mr. 
Thomas,  in  the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Fuller : 

'  Buddaul,  March,  10,  1794. 
'Rev.  AND  DEAR  Sir, 

'  This  place  is  about  sixty  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Malda. 
I  am  come  hither  on  a  journey,  with  Mr.  Udney's  family.  Mr. 
Carey  and  his  family  are  about  300  miles  off,  to  the  eastward 
of  Calcutta ;  and  my  own  family  are  on  a  journey  from  Cal- 
cutta to  Malda,  where  Mr.  Carey  and  all  will  meet,  we  hope, 
in  a  short  time.  We  have  been  greatly  distressed  with  diffi- 
culties, troubles,  and  fears  on  every  side;  but  the  Lord  is 
making  room  for  us,  and  compassing  us  about  with  songs  of 
deliverance. 

'You  remember  what  I  told  you  at  Kettering,  of  my  being 
in  debt,  though  having  sent  home  muslins,  camphor,  &c.,  to 
the  amount  of  18,000  rupees,  which  sold,  when  the  market 
was  very  low,  for  little  more  than  £1,100.  This  was  distribu- 
ted among  my  creditors  as  far  as  it  would  go,  and  this  was 
£500  short  of  their  demand.  I  entertained  some  hopes  of  a 
computation  with  my  creditors  when  I  saw^  you,  by  paying 
them  a  sum,  which  I  found  afterwards  I  was  not  able  to  raise. 
Having  nothing  to  offer  by  way  of  payment,  I  neglected  wait- 
ing on  them,  till  they  came  after  me.  I  then  told  them  all  the 
truth ;  appealed  to  my  own  experience,  testifying  my  intention 
of  paying  them,  but  now  I  was  very  poor.  Still,  as  they  saw 
me  bent  on  an  expensive  voyage,  they  could  not  believe  this. 
I  had  a  secret  hope  that  money  would  come  from  some  quarter 
or  other,  just  to  help  us  over  the  sea,  through  the  kind  provi- 
dence of  God,  but  had  no  assurance  or  possession  of  money, 
yet  was  as  fully  bent  on  going,  as  if  I  had.  My  creditors 
could  not  see  through  all  this,  and  suspected  my  integrity. 
They  began  to  hunt,  and  I  to  flee  as  a  partridge,  yet  still  con- 
tinuing to  preach  publicly  wherever  I  was  asked.  Every  day 
I  had  fears  without,  that  I  should  be  arrested,  and  hopes 
within,  that  1  should  escape ;  till  at  length  the  happy  day  was 
7 


62  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

come  when  I  was  relieved  by  a  chain  of  providences,  and 
embarked  with  my  family  and  my  fellow-laborer  on  board  the 
Earl  of  Oxford.  We  sailed  off*  with  great  joy  to  the  Mother- 
bank  :  but  here  we  were  detained  longer  by  many  weeks  than 
we  expected.  Matters  being  left  in  London  not  quite  so  well 
settled  as  I  could  wish,  I  returned  to  that  city  by  land ;  and  I 
had  not  been  gone  many  hours,  before  one  of  my  creditors 
called  at  my  lodging  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  with  a  writ  and 
bailiff;  to  arrest  me  for  £100  or  less.  Mr.  Carey  and  my  wife 
were  in  great  apprehension  and  fear  for  me,  and  I  trembled  to 
think  of  my  situation.  But,  of  his  own  accord,  the  man  drop- 
ped the  pursuit,  after  several  menaces  to  the  contrary :  the 
time  of  sailing  drew  very  near,  and  I  ventured  to  join  my 
family. 

'W^e  were  in  exjDectation  of  sailing  within  four  days,  when 
the  purser  of  the  ship  came  to  inform  us,  that  the  captain  had 
received  an  anonymous  letter  from  the  India  House,  saying 
that  a  person  was  going  out  in  his  ship  without  the  Company's 
leave,  and  information  would  be  lodged  against  him,  if  the 
person  alluded  to  proceeded  on  the  voyage ;  and  that,  in  con- 
sequence of  this  letter,  the  captain  could  not  think  of  taking 
brother  Carey  or  me,  suspecting  it  to  mean  one  of  us.  Our 
distress  on  this  occasion  was  very  great.  I  went  up  to  Lon- 
don to  search  for  the  author  of  this  letter,  hoj)ing  to  satisfy 
the  captain  'twas  neither  of  us  meant.  I  took  the  letter  with 
me ;  but  finding  all  in(iuirJes  vain,  I  returned  to  Portsmouth. 
There  I  met  brother  Carey  in  tears,  telling  me  the  captain  was 
now  fully  determined  to  take  neither  of  us ;  and  the  season 
grew  so  late,  we  had  little  hopes  of  any  other  ship,  but  con- 
soled ourselves  with  some  broken  hopes  of  going  by  land.  In 
the  midst  of  these  dark  and  gloomy  circumstances,  we  could 
not  help  wondering  to  find  Mrs.  Thomas,  who  had  with  much 
difficulty  been  persuaded  to  come  at  all,  determined  now  to  go 
without  us,  with  her  child,  upon  the  hope  of  our  following 
soon  after. 

'  The  next  day,  Mr.  Carey  got  all  his  baggage  out  of  the 
ship,  and,  with  a  heart  heavier  than  all,  came  away  with  me. 
That  which  would  have  made  us  leap  for  joy  before,  added  to 
our  grief  now,  viz.,  to  see  all  the  ships  get  under  weigh  and 
sail   oflf:    at   the   same   instant,  we,  leaving   our   baggage    at 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  63 

Portsmouth,  returned  to  Loudon.  Carey  was  for  asking  leave 
of  the  Company  now;  but  they  had  just  set  their  wicked  faces 
against  a  mission  to  the  East  Indies,  by  sending  some  of  their 
ablest  advocates  for  total  darkness  to  plead  against  all  mission- 
aries in  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain.  While  Carey  wrote 
to  his  wife,  I  would  go  to  a  coffee-house,  with  eager  desire  to 
know  whether  any  Swedish  or  Danish  ship  was  expected  to 
sail  from  Europe  to  Bengal,  or  any  part  of  the  East  Indies 
this  season ;  when,  to  the  great  joy  of  a  bruised  heart,  the 
waiter  put  a  card  into  my  hand,  whereon  were  written  these 
life-giving  words :  '  A  Danish  East  Indiaman,  J\^o.  10,  Cannon 
streeV  No  more  tears  that  night.  Our  courage  revived ;  we 
fled  to  No.  10,  Cannon  street,  and  found  it  was  the  office  of 
Smith  and  Co.,  agents ;  that  Mr.  Smith  was  a  brother  of  the 
captain's,  and  lived  in  Gower  street ;  that  this  ship  had  sailed, 
as  he  supposed,  from  Copenhagen ;  was  hourly  expected  in 
Dover  roads ;  would  make  no  stay  there  ;  and  the  terms  were 
£100  for  a  passenger,  £50  for  a  child,  £25  for  an  attendant. 
We  went  away  wishing  for  money.  Carey  had  £150  returned 
from  the  Oxford:  this  was  not  half  sufficient  for  all,  and  we 
were  not  willing  to  part.  Besides,  our  baggage  was  still  at 
Portsmouth ;  and  Carey  had  written  to  Mrs.  Carey  that  he  was 
coming  to  see  her ;  and  also  he  entertained  some  faint  hopes 
that  she  might  now  join  us,  if  she  could  be  so  persuaded,  for 
she  had  lain  in  only  three  weeks :  but  the  shortest  way  of  ac- 
complishing all  this  would  take  up  so  much  time,  that  we 
feared  we  should  be  too  late  for  the  ship.  That  night,  there- 
fore, we  set  off,  and  breakfasted  with  Mrs.  Carey  the  next 
morning.  She  refused  to  go  with  us,  which  gave  Mr.  Carey 
much  grief  I  reasoned  with  her  a  long  time  to  no  purpose. 
I  had  entreated  the  Lord  in  prayer  to  make  known  his  will, 
and  not  to  suffer  either  of  us  to  fight  against  him,  by  per- 
suading her  to  go  on  the  one  hand,  or  stay  on  the  other.  This 
expression  moved  her,  but  her  determination  not  to  go  was 
apparently  fixed.  We  now  set  off  to  Mr.  Ryland,  of  North- 
ampton, to  ask  for  money ;  and  on  our  way  thither  I  found 
Mr.  Carey's  hope  of  his  wife  all  gone.  I  proposed  to  go  back 
once  more ;  but  he  overruled  it,  saying  it  was  of  no  use.  At 
last  I  said,  'I  will  go  back.' — 'Well,  do  as  you  think  proper,' 
said  he :  '  but  I  think  we  are  losing  time.'     I  went  back,  and 


64  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

told  Mrs.  Carey  her  going  out  with  us  was  a  matter  of  such 
importance,  I  could  not  leave  her  so — her  family  would  be 
dispersed  and  divided  for  ever — she  ivould  repent  of  it  as  long  as 
she  lived.  As  she  tells  me  since,  this  last  saying,  frequently 
repeated,  had  such  an  eifect  upon  her,  that  she  was  afraid  to 
stay  at  home  ;  and  afterward,  in  a  few  minutes,  determined  to 
go,  trusting  in  the  Lord :  but  this  should  be  on  condition  of 
her  sister  going  with  her.  This  was  agreed  to.  We  now 
set  off  for  Northampton,  like  two  different  men  ;  our  steps  so 
much  quicker,  our  hearts  so  much  lighter. 

'  The  counting  of  the  cost,  however,  was  still  enough  to 
damp  all  our  hopes.  No  less  than  eight  persons'  passage  to 
be  paid  for,  besides  the  necessaries  to  be  bought,  for  fitting  all 
out  for  so  long  a  voyage,  would  require  £700  at  least !  Mr. 
Ryland  gave  us  to  understand,  that  there  was  not  so  much  in 
hand  by  far  ;  but  what  there  was,  he  was  heart- willing  should 
go,  and  faith  gave  credit  for  the  rest.  So  within  the  space  of 
twenty-four  hours,  the  whole  family  packed  up,  and  left  all, 
and  were  in  two  post-chaises  on  their  way  to  London,  where 
we  were  authorized  to  take  up  money  if  we  could.  Dear  Mr. 
Booth,  Thomas,  and  Rippon,  helped  us  with  their  whole  might ; 
while  I  went  to  bargain  with  the  captain's  agent.  I  rejoiced 
to  hear  him  say  that  the  ship  was  not  arrived.  I  told  him 
that,  in  hopes  of  being  time  enough,  I  had  been  down  to 
Northampton,  and  brought  up  a  large  family  to  go  in  the  ship. 
He  was  struck  with  the  despatch  that  had  been  made ;  and  I 
continued  to  say,  that  their  finances  were  slender,  and  ex- 
penses very  great ;  that  the  terms  I  had  to  offer  him  were 
these :  that  two  people  should  be  at  the  captain's  table  only 
(Mr.  and  Mrs.  C);  that  two  cabins  only  would  be  required; 
and  two  persons  (Mrs.  C.'s  sister  and  myself)  would  go  as  at- 
tendants, and  receive  their  dinner  from  or  with  the  servants, 
or  any  way  whatever,  that  would  be  convenient  to  the  captain ; 
that  for  these  accommodations  I  had  three  hundred  guineas  to 
offer  him.  1  was  moved  with  wonder,  to  see  the  hand  of  God 
on  this  occasion,  in  his  accepting  these  terms,  the  lowest,  I 
suppose,  that  ever  were  heard  of  He  said  what  wi'ought  the 
most  with  him,  was  such  a  large  family  being  actually  ad- 
vanced to  go. 

'  Within  twenty-four  hours  after  our  arrival  in  London,  Mr. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  65 

Carey  and  his  family  embarked  for  Dover,  to  catch  the  ship  in 
passing,  while  I  set  off  for  Portsmouth  to  fetch  the  baggage. 
It  would  be  too  late  if  I  brought  it  by  land;  and  it  was  so 
dangerous  to  go  by  water,  that  the  boatmen  refused  large  sums, 
saying  the  channel  was  full  of  privateers  from  France,  which 
came  hovering  close  on  our  coasts.  At  last,  one  man  under- 
took to  go  in  an  open  boat  for  twenty  guineas.  Terrified  as  I 
was  lest  the  ship  should  pass  by,  yet  I  refused  to  give  this 
sum;  and  I  spent  two  whole  days  in  searching  for  a  man,  till 
a  fisherman  took  me  for  nine  guineas.  In  twenty-four  hours 
more  I  arrived  at  Dover,  having  ran  through  all  the  privateers 
in  the  dark,  if  there  were  any,  and  met  my  brother  Carey  with 
great  gladness  of  heart,  and,  without  any  other  evil  occurrent, 
embarked  on  board  the  Kron  Princessa  Maria,  as  you  have 
heard.  There,  indeed,  we  could  not  expect  the  captain  to 
treat  us  all  as  passengers,  or  to  be  very  well  pleased  with  such 
a  crowd  of  people  and  such  little  money.  But  who  can  cease 
wondering,  or  praising,  to  find  the  captain  gladly  receive  us 
all  with  the  utmost  tenderness  and  concern,  admitting  all  to 
his  table,  and  furnishim?  us  all  with  handsome  cabins?' 


SECTION    11. 

BRIEF  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  VOYAGE,  BY  MR.  THOMAS REMARKS  BY 

THE  EDITOP^ SELECTIONS  FROM  MR.  CAREY's  JOURNAL RET- 
ROSPECT BY  MR.  CAREY,  IN  A  LETTER  TO  THE  SOCIETY LET- 
TER TO  HIS  SISTERS. 

The  devout  reader  cannot  have  passed  over  the  facts  nar- 
rated in  the  foregoing  section,  without  admiring  the  wisdom 
and  benignity  of  the  divine  providence,  in  opening  a  way  for 
an  elevated  devotion  to  display  itself,  at  a  crisis,  and  under 
circumstances,  of  such  eminent  discouragement.  Nor  can  we 
7* 


Qij  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

fail,  from  such  interpositions,  to  gather  confidence  in  attempt- 
ing the  most  arduous  service,  and  offering  the  most  costly 
sacrifice,  to  which  the  dictates  of  an  enlightened  conscience 
can  urge  us. 

The  following  documents,  rehearsing  the  circumstances  of 
the  voyage  of  Mr.  Carey,  and  his  friend  Mr.  Thomas,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, will  be  found  of  some  interest  to  the  Chi'istian  reader. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Thomas  to ,  dated, 

'  Bengal  Bay,  October  26,  1793. 

'  On  Thursday  morning,  the  13th  of  June,  we  put  to  sea,  in 
expectation  of  writing  to  you  by  the  Triton  frigate,  which  con- 
veyed us  out  of  the  track  of  privateers,  who  might  otherwise 
have  detained  us ;  but  when  we  took  leave,  it  blew  so  fresh  we 
could  not  hoist  out  a  boat,  so  that  a  large  packet  of  letters, 
written  by  each  of  us,  was  not  sent  you. 

'  On  our  coming  on  board,  we  felt  ourselves  a  little  awkward, 
thinking  that  some  of  them  seemed  very  sensible  that  they 
were  passengers  of  a  better  rank  than  we  were,  and  consider- 
ing they  had  paid  £100  each,  and  we,  who  were  eight  persons, 
only  300  guineas ;  wherefore,  we  expected  to  be  treated  accor- 
dingly, and  determined  to  endure  it.  For  my  part,  I  expected  a 
very  uncomfortable  and  lonely  passage,  having  agreed  to  mess 
with  the  sei-vants.  We  agreed  for  two  cabins  only,  and  two  per- 
sons to  mess  at  the  captain's  table ;  but  he  that  gave  Joseph 
favor  in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh,  had  graciously  provided  for  us 
and  our  little  ones,  far  beyond  our  expectation.  We  found 
the  captain  a  very  well-bred  Englishman.  He  neither  would 
suffer  me  nor  Mrs.  Carey's  sister  to  a:bsent  ourselves  from  his 
table,  and  received  and  entertained  us  all  along  as  though  we 
had  been  people  of  consequence  ;  so  that  he  has  often  shown 
kindnesses,  that  we  could  no  otherwise  account  for,  than  by  the 
good  hand  of  God  being  upon  us.  On  our  coming  on  board,  he 
immediately  ordered  the  very  best  accommodation  in  the  ship, 
and  the  largest  to  be  prepared  for  Mrs.  Carey  and  her  children, 
and  a  cabin  for  me,  and  another  for  her  sister  was  granted, 
while  two  of  the  gentlemen,  who  paid  £200,  slept  in  one  cabin 
of  the  same  size.  On  their  being  sea-sick,  he  ordered  them 
soup,  sent  wine  and  other  comfortable  things,  and  would  cpme 
himself  and  visit  them,  to  see  they  wanted  nothing  he  could 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  67 

supply  them  with.  Who  can  see  the  lovely  accomplishments 
and  shining  abilities  with  which  some  are  endowed,  without 
grief  of  heart  to  see  the  '  one  thing  needful '  visibly  wanting ! 

'  Poor  Mrs.  Carey  has  had  many  fears  and  troubles ;  so  that 
she  was  like  Lot's  wife,  until  we  passed  the  Cape ;  but  ever 
since,  it  seems  so  far  to  look  back  to  Piddington,  that  she 
turns  her  hopes  and  wishes  to  our  safe  arrival  in  Bengal.  She 
has  had  good  health  all  the  passage,  and  her  little  babe  has 
grown  a  stout  fellow.  All  the  children  are  remarkably  healthy, 
which  we  cannot  but  feel  as  a  great  kindness  towards  us. 
Mrs.  Carey's  sister  also  shares  good  health,  and  all  bear  the 
heat  much  better  than  I  expected.  Mr.  Carey  was  at  one  time 
ill  with  a  complaint  in  his  bowels,  which  he  has  been  used  to 
at  home ;  but  the  Lord  had  mercy  on  him  and  me:  he  is  now 
as  well,  I  suppose,  as  he  ever  was  in  his  life,  and  has  been  for 
some  months.  We  have  preached  twice  on  each  Lord's  day, 
and  have  a  tolerable  choir  of  singers :  some  that  came  to  hear 
us  at  first  have  entirely  left  us,  and  others  have  heard  us  con- 
stantly ;  but,  to  our  great  sorrow,  we  do  not  see  the  blessing 
of  God  on  our  labors  :  some  profane  customs  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  in  common  conversation,  have  been  left  off,  but  the  one 
thing  needful  is  lacking ;  and  now  we  remember  the  words 
which  the  Lord  spoke  to  Ezekiel,  iii,  6,  '  Surely,'  &c.  We 
have  reason,  nevertheless,  to  be  thankful  for  some  sweet  and 
precious  seasons  of  grace  on  board,  which  we  have  relished 
among  ourselves,  both  on  Sabbath  days,  and  in  family  worship, 
which  we  enjoy  regularly  twice  a  day.  We  have  finished  a 
translation  of  the  book  of  Genesis  on  the  passage  ;  and  broth- 
er Carey  helped  me  out  in  passages  which  I  could  have 
made  nothing  of  without  him.  So  let  the  goldsmith  help  the 
carpenter,  and  the  carpenter  the  goldsmith,  that  the  work  of 
God  be  done. 

'  We  have  had  some  remarkable  favors  of  providence  on  our 
passage  besides  those  already  mentioned.  About  six  or  eight 
weeks  ago  we  began  to  fear  a  want  of  water,  and  to  talk  of  an 
allowance ;  which,  however  extraordinary  it  may  appear,  we 
have  never  been  limited  by  yet ;  well,  the  next  day  the  Lord 
sent  down  abundance  of  rain,  in  two  showers,  and  we  filled 
many  casks.  About  five  or  six  days  ago,  we  thought  ourselves 
driven  to  the  southward  by  a  strong  current,  as  far  as  Vizaga- 


68  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

tapam,  and  the  captain  determined  to  put  in  there.  We  began 
to  be  a  little  troubled  in  our  mind  as  to  what  we  should  do  for 
money,  and,  if  we  had  it,  how  we  should  bear  the  charge  of  an 
expensive  house,  «fec. ;  when  the  captain,  very  unexpectedly, 
came  and  told  Mrs.  Carey  that  he  should  take  a  house  at 
Vizagatapam,  and  all  her  family  would  be  welcome  to  stay 
there  till  the  ship's  departure.  Moreover,  he  has  promised  to 
recommend  us  to  the  Danish  governor  of  Serampore,  sixteen 
miles  from  Calcutta ;  which  will  be  no  small  favor  or  conven- 
ience, if  the  Company  should  consider  us  as  trespassers  on 
their  ground.  But  what  is  more,  he  has  offered  to  recommend 
us  to  the  secretary  of  the  supreme  council,  that  we  may  pro- 
cm-e  land;  and  if  this  should  be  of  God,  we  shall  rejoice;  if 
not — contented.  But,  in  one  sense,  we  are  sure  these  kind 
favors  from  men  are  of  God ;  and  we  have  good  hope  that  he 
will  make  room  for  us  and  our  little  ones,  especially  when  we 
look  back  and  see  ourselves  on  the  brink  of  sailing,  but  sud- 
denly stopped  and  sent  back ;  no  prospect  of  another  ship ;  I 
and  my  family  become  two  bands ;  all  darkness  and  threaten- 
ing, fear  and  dismay ;  but  in  three  days  another  ship  appears, 
takes  us,  and  the  whole  family ;  which  we  just  before  thought, 
on  many  accounts,  impossible  to  be  done.  When  we  think 
of  these  things  that  are  past,  we  trust  Him  for  all  that  is  to 
come.' 

Amongst  the  many  points  of  unavoidable  secular  detail  in  the 
conduct  of  missionary  societies,  the  transit  of  their  agents  is 
one  desei*ving  no  small  attention.  Comfort  and  economy  are 
the  points  to  be  secured.  The  missionary  himself,  it  is  hoped, 
will  generally  pay  as  studious  an  attention  to  the  latter,  as  the 
society  that  sends  him  forth ;  and  the  society,  whilst  justly 
anxious  to  husband  well,  and  wisely  apply,  the  resources 
placed  at  their  disposal,  should  carefully  avoid  an  inconvenient 
and  pinching  parsimony.  The  public,  the  missionary,  and  the 
society  should  consider  that  they  are  all  mutually  obliged  in 
this  work,  and  neither  party  should  conceive  it  has  any  interest 
separate  from  the  other.  The  public,  that  their  devotion  can 
be  in  some  degree  represented,  and  their  obligations  to  the 
heathen  world  discharged,  and  the  fruits  of  their  benevolence 
profitably  applied,  through  the  labors  and  sufferings  of  one 
specially  consecrated  to  this  particular  service.     The  mission- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  69 

ary  is  equally  so,  as,  by  the  bounty  of  the  public,  and  the  pat- 
ronage of  a  particular  society,  he  is  enabled  to  gratify  desires 
which  he  would  be  incompetent  to  do  in  his  insulated  capacity. 
The  society  is  also  both  obliged  and  honored,  because,  in  their 
associated  capacity,  whilst  they  can  effect  more  good  than 
would  -be  possible  by  their  solitary  efforts  and  contributions, 
they  are  constituted  the  depositaries  of  the  concentrated  bounty 
of  the  Christian  world,  and  the  directors  and  guardians  of  its 
devoted  agents.  Christians  in  commercial  life,  whose  property 
is  in  the  shipping  interest,  may  become  the  largest  benefactors 
to  the  missionary  cause  at  no  very  great  sacrifice,  whilst  the 
fact  of  their  proprietorship  will  be  a  guarantee  for  the  proper 
treatment  of  the  parties.  Gentlemen  might  be  referred  to,  who 
have  in  this  way  repeatedly  rendered  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society  their  debtors,  and  who,  we  trust,  will  be  imitated  by 
others. 

Tliose  to  whom  societies  refer  the  negociation  of  passages 
for  their  brethren,  should  be  solicitous  to  obtain  a  good  ship 
and  a  reputable  captain ;  and  a  keen  regard  should  be  had  to 
the  accommodations,  especially  when  females  are  to  be  arrang- 
ed for.  No  society  should  become  a  party  to  the  mission  of  a 
single  lady,  except  she  can  go  under  protection.  The  expense 
of  a  passage  is  of  secondary  importance.  A  crazy  and  crank 
vessel,  with  a  rude  and  vulgar  captain,  bad  fare,  and  low  fellow- 
passengers,  without  the  charge  of  a  single  farthing,  would 
render  a  voyage  far  too  costly.  The  inconvenience  and  mor- 
tification accruing  from  such  sources  would  be  a  sufficient 
trial  for  a  single  day ;  but  recurring  every  day,  and  every  hour, 
for  six  months  in  succession,  become  intolerable,  and  are  such 
as  no  missionary  and  his  wife  should  be  obnoxious  to,  if  there 
exists  a  possibility  of  their  prevention.  Some  painful  tales 
might  be  told  upon  this  subject,  were  it  discreet  to  relate  them, 
and  such  as  might  prove  admonitory  to  those  intrusted  with 
the  transaction  of  such  affairs.  In  negociating  terms,  no  such 
severity  should  be  observed  as  might  disparage  a  missionary 
in  the  estimation  of  the  captain.  And,  then,  when  a  society 
has  done  its  part,  let  the  brother  take  special  care  he  does  not 
disparage  himself  Without  such  care,  this  may  very  soon  be 
done.  No  scene  is  more  trying  to  character  and  to  temper 
than  a  ship,  particularly  to  young  and  inexperienced  persons. 


70  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

such  as  missionaries  and  their  wives  ordinarily  are,  and  such 
as  they  must  be,  until  those  of  some  age  and  standing  in  the 
Christian  church  embark  in  the  work.  Great  circumspection 
is  desirable  in  our  intercourse  with  fellow-passengers,  many  of 
w^hom  are  of  very  dissimilar  principles  and  habits  to  those 
which  a  missionary  is  supposed  to  hold  and  cultivate.  A 
Christian  in  these,  as  in  all  other  circumstances,  should  not  be 
deficient  in  the  civilities  of  life ;  yet  he  will  find  it  convenient 
to  put  his  social  tendencies  under  more  restraint  than  is  need- 
ful at  other  times.  The  close  and  almost  unavoidable  contact 
into  which  you  are  thrown  in  the  living  details  of  every  day, 
without  care,  will  originate  annoyance  and  collisions.  Reserve 
will  prove  less  inconvenient  than  familiarity.  The  former, 
though  it  will  make  you  apparently  less  amiable,  will  yet  throw 
a  defence  about  you,  and  render  insult  and  encroachment 
difficult.  All  altercation  with  fellow-passengers  upon  secular 
matters  should  be  studiously  avoided,  though  the  temptation  to 
it  may  be  strong.  The  commencement  of  a  voyage  is  often 
the  most  trying  period  ;  and,  from  the  novelty  of  the  predica- 
ment in  which  we  find  ourselves,  very  difficult  to  be  borne. 
Do  not  expect  too  much  from  ship-servants.  The  morhent  you 
most  require  them,  they  have  ten  calls,  each  one  of  which  is  as 
urgent  as  yours.  In  bad  weather  you  are  not  likely  to  find 
your  fellow-passengers  bland  and  courteous.  The  inconven- 
ience that  all  share  will  make  every  one  careful  only  for  him- 
self And,  even  at  other  times,  some  will  be  found,  who, 
though  on  shore  they  might  pass  moderately  well  as  gentlemen, 
through  their  constitutional  impatience  and  the  tedium  of  a 
sea-life,  will  be  always  misanthropic,  and,  whether  the  wind 
blow  foul  or  fair,  will  quarrel  with  a  straw.  It  is  preferable 
to  reconcile  oneself  to  neglect  or  injury  in  such  a  case,  than  to 
risk  remonstrance  or  complaint.  Not  but  that  a  minister  will 
meet  with  sympathy  and  defence  under  insult  and  ill-treat- 
ment ;  yet  worldly  gentlemen  will  oflTer  it  in  their  own  way, 
which  will  incur  an  evil,  perhaps,  tenfold  more  aggravated  than 
the  one  they  resent.  A  Christian  minister,  being  once  abusively 
spoken  to  by  a  fellow-passenger,  was  generously  defended  by 
another;  but  the  resentment  of  the  injury  was  shown  by 
threatening  the  offender  with  a  duel.  Thus,  his  high-minded 
fi-iend  grieved  him  a  thousand  times  more  than  his  enemy. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  71 

A  missionary  will  witness  much  on  board  a  ship  to  shock 
religious  feeling.  It  will  require  as  much  wisdom  as  zeal 
to  resolve  how  and  when  to  reprove.  A  mistake  in  either 
of  these  particulars,  may  exasperate  and  excite  repugnance. 

Missionaries  are  generally  allowed  to  conduct  public  re- 
ligious exercises ;  though  some  captains  have  been,  and  still 
are,  sufficiently  prejudiced  and  absurd  to  prohibit  them,  judg- 
ing that,  if  they  take  hold  of  the  mind  of  a  sailor,  they  dis- 
qualify in  some  way,  they  scarcely  know  how,  for  duty.  Now 
and  then,  upon  a  very  fine  Sunday,  they  think  it  may  do  no 
harm  to  read  the  prayers  of  the  Church  of  England.  When 
that  is  done,  they  consider  'there  is  an  end  of  it;'  but  what 
praying  and  preaching  may  lead  to,  is  hard  to  tell.  But  this 
narrowness  and  misconception,  once  so  common  among  sea- 
faring officers,  are  fast  wearing  away.  The  good  that  inissona- 
ries  have  effiacted  on  their  vo}  age  has  its  living  testimony  in 
every  part  of  the  globe.  Better  behaved  hearers  are  not  to  be 
met  with  through  all  the  gradations  of  society  than  sailors  and 
soldiers.  Their  habits  of  obedience  are  favorable  at  least  to 
attention,  and  that,  again,  to  a  correct  perception  of  what  is  ad- 
dressed to  them;  and  my  belief  is,  that,  according  to  the  means 
of  instruction  they  enjoy,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  has  been 
more  successful  among  them  than  amongst  any  other  portion 
of  mankind. 

The  religious  reader  will,  perhaps,  recur  to  some  painful 
notices  in  the  life  of  Henry  Martyn,  which  may  appear  to 
militate  against  the  correctness  of  such  remarks.  But  two 
things  should  be  remembered;  first,  that  the  contempt  and 
bitterness  he  met  with  were  from  gentlemen  passengers,  who, 
when  it  can  be  done  with  impunity,  will  sometimes  allow 
themselves  in  improprieties  which  surprise  common  sailors, 
and  make  them  blush.  Secondly,  those  who  have  read  atten- 
tively the  life  of  that  pious  and  truly  excellent  man,  must  have 
perceived  that  his  main  excellences  lay  in  the  holiness  of  his 
aftections,  and  the  intensity  of  his  zeal :  a  discriminating  wis- 
dom was  that  for  which  he  was  least  of  all  distinguished.  He 
was  absorbed  in  the  greater  virtues,  but  was,  perhaps,  less  con- 
siderate than  he  might  have  been,  in  their  circumstantial 
developments.     Nor   does  he  appear  at  all  times  so   patient 


72  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

under  resistance,  and  so  tranquil  under  disappointment,  as 
would  have  been  corroborative  of  his  principles,  and  just  to  his 
motives.  On  finding,  after  a  Sabbath  exercise,  that  some  pas- 
sengers had  taken  in  bad  part  some  ultimate  and  alarming 
truths  which  he  had  addressed  to  them,  and  that  they  were 
profane  enough  to  turn  them  into  ridicule,  he  records,  that,  the 
next  time  he  preached,  he  took  for  his  text,  '  The  wicked  shall 
be  turned  into  hell,  with  all  the  nations  that  forget  God.'  To 
induce  the  conviction  that  men  are  in  utter  ruin,  and  shut  up 
to  the  faith  of  Christ,  a  direct  criminating  style  is  not  the  most 
judicious.  Paul  '  reasoned  of  temperance,  righteousness,  and 
a  judgment  to  come  ;  and  Felix  trembled.'  If  any  class  of  men 
apprehend  that  you  address  them  under  an  impression  that 
their  religious  state  is  more  desperate  than  that  of  other  men, 
their  self-righteousness  will  be  provoked,  and  they  will  not 
scruple  at  seizing  the  first  occasion  to  manifest  their  disgust. 
I  have  been  informed  by  those  who  sailed  with  Mr.  Martyn, 
that  he  was  subject  to  much  vexation  the  greater  part  of  his 
voyage;  which  they  attributed  partly  to  the  superior  sanctity 
of  his  character,  and  partly  to  the  style  of  his  preaching.  One 
of  these  witnesses  continues  to  this  day  a  memorial  of  his 
faithfulness  and  zeal.  An  incident  occurred,  at  the  regimental 
'mess'  at  Dinapore,  which  strikingly  evinced,  and  did  honor, 
to  his  dauntless  courage.  The  commanding  officer,  an  aged 
man,  having  uttered  himself  profanely,  Mr.  Martyn  reproved 
him,  at  which  the  colonel  was  revolted,  and  said,  with  indigna- 
tion, '  I  think,  if  nothing  else  could  do  it,  my  gray  hairs  ought 
to  defend  me  from  such  remarks.'  '  Sir,'  replied  the  man  of 
God,  '  if  your  good  sense  cannot  defend  you,  your  gray  hairs 
ought  not.' 

Mr.  Carey's  Journal.     1793. 

'  Thursday,  June  13.  After  being  prevented  from  going  in 
the  Oxford  (by  reason  of  the  abominable  East  India  monopoly), 
we  embarked,  by  divine  Providence,  in  the  Kron  Princessa 
Maria,  a  Danish  ship,  commanded  by  captain  Christmas,  an 
Englishman,  at  five  in  the  morning,  from  Dover,  and  by  night 
were  off  Beachy  Head.  This,  I  hope,  was  a  day  of  joy  to  my 
soul.    I  was  returned  to  take  all  my  family  with  me,  and  to 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  73 

enjoy  all  the  blessings  which  I  had  surrendered  up  to  God. 
This  is  an  ebenezer  which  I  raise  to  God.  and  I  hope  to  be 
strengthened  whenever  I  reflect  upon  it. 

'  16.  Lord's  day.  A  little  recovered.  Met  for  prayer  and 
exhortation  in  my  cabin.  Had  a  dispute  with  a  French  deist' 
Lat.  46°  12'  N.,  Lon.  5°  W. 

'  17 — 23.  All  this  week  nothing  of  moment  occurred.  We 
met  every  morning  and  evening  for  family  prayer,  and  met 
with  innumerable  civilities  from  every  body  on  board ;  but 
have  most  awful  proof  of  the  effects  of  human  depravity  when 
heightened  by  bad  principles.  The  old  deist  (Barnard)  is  one 
of  the  most  daring,  presumptuous  wi'etches  that  ever  I  heard. 
Calms  the  last  five  days. 

'  23.  Lord's  day.  Had  two  public  meetings.  Mr.  T.  preach- 
ed once,  and  I  once.  In  the  morning  we  had  but  one  person 
more  than  our  own  family:  in  the  afternoon  we  had  three ;  the 
surgeon  and  two  of  the  passengers.  God  grant  that  it  may  be 
useful ! 

'24,  25.  Fell  in  with  the  trade-wind  in  lat.  39°  N.,  and  the 
next  day  passed  the  island  of  Madeira.  It  was  in  sight  the 
g)-eatest  part  of  the  day.  A  French  privateer  hoisted  English 
colors,  and  pretended  to  be  bound  for  Sierra  Leone. 

'  On  the  24th  saw  a  number  of  flying-fish.  Have  begun  to 
write  Bengali,  and  read  Edwards's  Sermons,  and  Cowper's 
Poems.  Mind  tranquil  and  serene.  I  have  of  late  found  my 
mind  more  impressed  than  ordinarily  with  the  importance  of 
the  work  upon  which  I  am  going.  God  grant  that  I  may  feel 
it  more  and  more ! 

'  29.  This  day,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  afl;ernoon,  passed 
the  tropic  of  Cancer.  The  heat  is  very  moderate,  and  has  been 
all  the  voyage  :  the  thermometer  at  72°,  and  has  never  been 
more.  I  find  some  delight  in  reading,  and  in  preparing  for  my 
work  by  writing  the  Bengali ;  only,  however,  because  it  relates 
to  my  great  work. 

'  30.  Lord's  day.  A  pleasant  and  profitable  day.  Our  con- 
gregation composed  of  ten  persons.  But  no  good  done  yet. 
Lat.  21°  5'. 

'  July  1.  But  little  wind.  Had  a  long  conversation  with  the 
deist  to-day  ;  but  never  found  a  man  so  hardened  and  determin- 
8 


74  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

ed  to  turn  Scripture  into  ridicule  as  he.  Oh  how  dreadfully 
depraved  is  human  nature  ! 

'5.  But  little  wind.  A  busy  day,  but  happy  within.  Yet 
a  most  unprofitable  creature.  I  have  need  to  read  the 
word  of  God  more ;  and,  above  all,  I  want  a  heart  to  feed 
upon  it. 

'  7.  Lord's  day.  A  pleasant,  and  I  hope  a  profitable  one. 
Our  congregation  increased  by  one.  Had  much  sweetness  and 
enjoyment  of  God. 

'  10 — 21.  Contrary  winds,  by  which  we  were  detained,  and 
prevented  from  making  much  progress.  Was  very  ill,  owing 
to  a  bilious  complaint,  and  obstructed  perspiration,  which  is 
very  dangerous  in  hot  countries.  Find  my  mind  somewhat 
drawn  out  to  God,  but  in  general  quite  spiritless.  On  the  21st 
passed  the  Line,  and  the  whole  day  was  spent  by  the  sailors  in 
mirth :  but  my  soul  was  sad. 

'23 — Aug.  2.  Last  night  passed  the  trojoic  of  Capricorn. 
This  time  has  been  filled  up  with  various  exercises  of  mind. 
I  have  in  general  reason  to  mourn  that  I  have  no  more  of  the 
spiritual  warfare  maintained  in  my  soul,  and  no  more  commun- 
ion with  God.  I  feel  myself  to  be  much  declined  upon  the 
whole,  in  the  more  spiritual  exercises  of  religion ;  yet  have 
had  some  pleasant  exercises  of  soul,  and  feel  my  heart  set 
upon  the  great  work  upon  which  I  am  going.  Sometimes  I 
am  quite  dejected  when  I  see  the  impenetrability  of  the  hearts 
of  those  with  us.  They  hear  us  preach  on  the  Lord's  day,  but 
we  are  forced  to  witness  their  disregard  to  God  all  the  week. 
O  may  God  give  us  greater  success  among  the  heathen.  I  am 
very  desirous  that  my  children  may  pursue  the  same  work ;  and 
now  intend  to  bring  up  one  in  the  study  of  Sanscrit,  and 
another  of  Persian.  O  may  God  give  them  grace  to  fit  them 
for  the  work !  I  have  been  much  concerned  for  fear  the  power 
of  the  Company  should  oppose  us ;  but  though  we  have  spent 
much  time  in  contriving,  we  have  at  last  concluded  to 
apply  to  them  for  land  to  settle  upon,  and  leave  the  success 
with  God. 

'  20.  Nothing  very  material  having  occurred  since  we  passed 
the  tropic  of  Capricorn,  I  have  not  written  any  account ;  but 
this  day  we  are  oflTthe  Cape  of  Good  Hope.     We  expected  to 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY.  75 

have  gone  iii  there ;  on  account  of  which,  I  had  written  to 
friends  in  England  some  time  since :  but  now,  having  some 
hopes  of  arriving  in  Bengal  before  the  breaking  up  of  the 
nionsoon,  we  pass  by.  I  have  some  reason  to  regret  tliis,  as  I 
had  hopes  of  persuading  one  of  the  ministers  there  to  engage 
in  a  correspondence  with  England:  but  the  Lord  is  wise.  I 
have  reason  to  lament  over  a  barrenness  of  soul,  and  am  some- 
times much  discouraged  ;  for  if  I  am  so  dead  and  stupid,  how 
can  I  expect  to  be  of  any  use  among  the  heathen  ?  Yet  I  have 
of  late  felt  some  very  lively  desires  after  the  success  of  our 
undertaking.  If  there  is  any  thing  engages  my  heart  in  prayer 
to  God,  it  is  that  the  heathen  may  be  converted,  and  that  the 
society  which  has  so  generously  exerted  itself  may  be  en- 
couraged, and  excited  to  go  on  with  greater  vigor  in  the  important 
midertaking.  My  wife,  through  mercy,  is  well  satisfied  with 
our  undertaking,  and  we  are  all  now  in  remarkably  good 
health.  Our  course  was  by  the  islands  of  Trinidad,  Saxem- 
burg,  Tristan  D'Acuuha,  and  then  from  lat.  27°  S.,  Ion.  29° 
W.,  due  east  to  this  place. 

'25.  A  very  pleasant  day;  had  much  enjoyment  in  public 
worship.  But  about  half  past  one  on  Monday  morning,  was 
awakened  by  the  violent  motion  of  the  ship,  and  in  about  half 
an  hour  was  informed  that  she  had  carried  away  her  main-top 
and  fore-top  masts.  I  went  upon  deck,  where  a  dreadful  scene 
presented  itself;  the  masts  and  rigging  hanging  over  the 
side,  and  the  ship  violently  rolling  and  pitching.  Once  I 
thought  she  must  have  gone  down ;  but  through  mercy  all  were 
preserved. 

'  29.  All  day  a  hard  gale. 

'Nov.  9,  1793.  From  the  time  of  my  last  journal  to  this, 
nothing  of  so  much  importance  occurred  as  to  be  worth  re- 
cording. I  think  that  I  have  had  more  liberty  in  prayer,  and 
more  converse  with  God,  than  for  some  time  before ;  but  have, 
notwithstanding,  been  a  very  unfruitful  creature,  and  so  remain. 
For  near  a  month  we  have  been  within  two  hundred  miles  of 
Bengal,  but  the  violence  of  the  currents  set  us  back  when  we 
have  been  at  the  very  door.  I  hope  I  have  learned  the  neces- 
sity of  bearing  up  in  the  things  of  God  against  wind  and  tide, 
when  there  is  occasion,  as  we  have  done  in  our  voj^age.  We 
have  had  our  jiort  in  view  all  along,  and  there  has  been  every 


76  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

attention  paid  to  ascertain  our  situation  by  solar  and  lunar  ob- 
servations :  no  opportunity  occurred  that  was  neglected.  Oh 
that  I  was  but  as  attentive  to  the  evidence  of  my  state,  as  they 
to  their  situation !  A  ship  sails  within  six  points  of  the  wind; 
that  is,  if  the  wind  blow  from  the  north,  a  ship  will  sail  E.  N. 
E.  upon  one  tack,  and  W.  N.  W.  upon  the  other :  if  our  course 
is  north,  we  must  therefore  go  E.  N.  E.  for  a  considerable 
way,  then  W.  N.  W. ;  and  if  the  wind  shifts  a  point,  the  ad- 
vantage is  immediately  taken.  Now,  though  this  is  tiresome 
work,  and  (especially  if  a  current  sets  against  us)  we  scarcely 
make  any  way;  nay,  sometimes,  in  spite  of  all  that  we  can  do, 
we  go  backwards  instead  of  forwards ;  yet  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  keep  working  up,  if  we  ever  mean  to  arrive 
at  our  port.  So  in  the  Christian  life,  we  often  have  to  work 
against  wind  and  currents ;  but  we  must  do  it  if  we  expect 
ever  to  make  our  port. 

Mr.  Carey  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
amongst  the  Heathen : 

'Bay  of  Bengal,  17th  Oct.,  1793. 
'Dear  Brethren, 

'  Twice  before  this  have  I  written,  in  expectation  of  an  op- 
portunity to  send  to  you,  but  was  disappointed.  Once  was  in 
the  Bay  of  Biscay,  by  the  frigate  which  convoyed  us  on  ;  but 
when  she  parted  with  us,  the  sea  ran  too  high  to  send  a  boat. 
Again,  we  expected  to  put  in  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  but 
as  there  was  a  prospect  of  arriving  at  Bengal  before  the  change 
of  the  monsoon,  we  did  not  put  in  there,  or  any  where  else. 
Thus  far,  through  the  mercy  of  God,  we  are  arrived  safe,  and 
all  in  good  health.  Thinking  we  shall  be  engaged  after  we 
arrive,  I  begin  my  letter  here. 

'  The  whole  of  our  stay  in  England  is  known  to  you,  and  all 
that  befell  us.  We  waited  at  Dover  till  Thursday  morning, 
the  13th  of  June,  when  we  were  called  up,  and  saw  the  ship 
lying  off  the  harbor.  About  five  o'clock  we  came  on  board, 
and  met  with  the  greatest  civility,  which  has  continued  till 
this  day.  The  ship  is  called  Kron  Princessa  Maria,  Captain 
J.  Christmas,  an  Englishman,  whose  own  are  the  ship  and 
cargo,  one  of  the  most  polite,  accomplished  gentlemen  that 
ever  bore  the  name  of  a  sea-captain.    He  immediately  ordered 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  77 

the  great  cabin  to  be  separated,  that  we  might  be  accommoda- 
ted ;  so  that  we  have  a  large  cabin,  half  the  width  of  the  ship, 
with  sash  windows,  and  the  sides  papered,  besides  a  smaller 
one.  Mr.  Thomas  has  likewise  a  cabin  ;  and  though  we  went 
for  so  small  a  sum  (the  other  passengers  paid  100  guineas), 
yet  no  kind  of  distinction  has  been  observed,  but  we  have  all 
met  with  the  same  kind  treatment.  Four  men  passengers  ac- 
companied us,  two  of  them  English  and  two  French.  One  of 
the  Frenchmen  is  the  most  presumptuous,  hardened  deist  I 
ever  saw  or  heard  of  I  have  almost  every  day  been  engaged 
in  disputes  with  him,  but  to  no  purpose  ;  his  dernier  resort  is 
to  turn  all  into  badinage.  His  credit,  however,  has  sunk  very 
much  in  the  ship  on  that  very  account.  The  captain  is  a  man 
of  very  extensive  reading,  but  never  meddles  with  any  thing 
written  upon  religion :  he  is  half  brother  to  lady  Langham,  of 
Cottesbrooke.  The  men  are  Danes  and  Norwegians ;  and  if 
there  is  no  religion  among,  them,  there  is  nmch  less  irreligion 
and  profaneness  than  among  the  English.  Our  first  mate  is 
son  of  a  superintendent  of  a  district  of  Norway ;  and,  from 
what  I  can  learn,  there  is  more  real  godliness  among  the  estab- 
lished Lutherans  of  those  countries,  than  in  the  English  estab- 
lishment. They  seem  to  be  more  on  a  level  with  the  Scots ;  but 
toleration  is  more  extensive  there  than  in  England,  for  no  civil 
penalties  or  disabilities  are  imposed  upon  any  people  for  re- 
ligion. 

'  Our  voyage  has  been,  upon  the  whole,  very  agreeable  and 
pleasant,  though  we  have  had  some  rough  weather,  and  ex- 
perienced many  great  deliverances.  June  13th,  sailed  from 
Dover ;  15th,  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  ;  24th,  fell  in  with  the  trade- 
wind  ;  25th,  passed  the  island  of  Madeira ;  27th,  passed  Pal- 
ma,  one  of  the  Canaries ;  saw  Gomorra  and  Tera,  but  could 
not  see  TenerifFe  :  saw  flying-fish.  29th,  passed  the  tropic  of 
Cancer ;  heat  72°.  July  2d,  becalmed  between  Cape  Verd 
Island  and  Africa;  heat  86°.  21st,  passed  the  Line.  Aug.  1st, 
passed  the  tropic  of  Capricorn;  20th,  oflT  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope:  our  course  was  by  the  islands  of  Trinidad,  Saxemburg, 
Tristan  D'Acunha;  thence,  from  lat.  72°  S.,  Ion.  29°  W., 
straight  to  the  Cape.  Hitherto,  our  voyage  had  been  very 
prosperous,  and  nothing  of  a  disastrous  nature  had  happened ; 
but  in  the  morning  of  the  26th,  we  had  a  very  distressing  ac- 
8* 


78  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

cident.     A  bank  extends  about  eighty  leagues  into   the  sea, 
from  Cape  des  Aquilas,  the  most  southern  part  of  Africa,  upon 
which  runs  a  very  strong  current,  which,  when  it  meets  the 
wind,  raises  the  sea  in  a  very  tremendous  manner.     We  were, 
in  S.  lat.  38°,  and  thought  ourselves  secm-e  from  that  danger ; 
but,  about  one  in  the  morning,  I  was  awakened  by  the  violent 
rolling  of  the  ship,  and  found  stools,  tables,  &c.,  rolling  about 
the  cabin,  and  presently  pots,  glasses,  and  every  thing  in  the 
ship,  not  secured,  were  crashing  at  once.     1  arose,  and  put  all 
to  rights  in  our  cabin,  and  was  just  got  into  bed  again,  when 
Mr.  Thomas  came  to  the  door,  and  told  me  we  had  carried 
away  our  main  and  fore-top  masts.     I  begged  my  wife  and 
children  to  keep  in  bed,  for  fear  of  having  their  bones  bro- 
ken, and  went  upon  deck,  where  the  scene  was  shocking  in- 
deed.     Li  the  night  (though  very    providentially    the    moon 
shone)  the  sea  rose  like  mountains,  beating  the  ship  in  all  di- 
rections, the  masts,  yards,  sails,  and  rigging  hanging  over  the 
sides,  and  beating  against  the  ship,  and  the  men  upon  them  in 
every  part  to  unrig  them  and  let  them  loose.     All  on  board 
have  uniformly  declared  they  never  saw  any  thing  like  it,  and 
at  one  time  we  concluded  she  was  going  to  the  bottom.     Our 
ship  is  about  130  feet  long  in  the  keel,  burthen  about  600  tons  ; 
she  was  mounted  on  the  top  of  a  sea  which  could  not  be  less 
than  fifty  or  sixty  yards  in  height,  from  which  she  descended 
head-foremost,  almost  perpendicular,  or  quite  as  nearly  so  as 
the  roof  of  a  house.     I  saw  her  going,  and  with  others  conclu- 
ded she  could  not  recover  it.      I  had  but  a  moment  to  reflect ; 
I  felt  resigned  to  the  will   of  God ;    and  to    prevent   being 
tossed  overboard  by  the  motion,  caught  hold  of  what   was 
nearest  to  me.     The  plunge  was  dreadful.     Her  bowsprit  was 
under  water,  and  the  jib-boom,  which  is  fastened  to  the  bow- 
sprit, was  carried  away.     But,  in  a  moment,  she  recovered  the 
plunge,  and  mounted  upon  another  sea,  without  shipping  a 
hogshead  of  water.     At  last,  we  cleared  the  wreck  and  set  our 
main-sail,  which  kept  the  ship  a  little  steady.     In  four  days 
after  this,  we  had  a  violent  gale ;   but,  except  the  uncomfort- 
able rolling  of  the  ship,  we  sustained  no  damage.     It  took  us 
eleven    days    to  repah-  our  loss ;   and,  only  two   days  after 
that,  a  violent  squall  carried  away  our  new  main-top  mast. 
Our  fore-top  mast  was  weak,  and  would  not  bear  a  gallant-mast ; 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  79 

SO  that  we  were  forced  to  put  up  a  tung  mast,  for  the  main-top 
mast ;  and  as  the  ship  was  victualled  for  fom*  months  only, 
and  we  had  but  little  water  left,  we  determined  to  go  into  the 
Mauritius  to  refit,  but  strong  northerly  winds  prevented  our 
going  that  way.  With  care  we  came  to  this  place.  The  rains 
have  supplied  us  with  plenty  of  water ;  and,  except  a  black 
woman  and  child,  who  were  very  ill  when  they  came  on  board, 
and  died  off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  the  carpenter,  who, 
by  his  great  exertions  in  our  misfortunes,  caught  cold,  to 
which  a  pleurisy  succeeded,  followed  by  the  scurvy,  of  which 
he  died  when  we  were  within  six  days'  sail  of  Bengal :  we 
have  had  good  health.  Our  infant  has  thrived  more  than  if  it 
had  been  on  land,  and  the  children  are  as  well  satisfied. 

'  We  have  not  been  entirely  destitute  of  religious  opportuni- 
ties. Family  w=orship  has  been  constantly  attended,  and  every 
Lord's  day  we  had  preaching  twice  in  our  cabin.  Our  con- 
gregation consisted  sometimes  of  six  people  besides  our  own 
family :  they  consisted  of  Holsteins,  Norwegians,  Danes,  En- 
glish, Flemish,  and  French,  or  rather  one  of  each.  With 
respect  to  religious  persuasions,  they  were  Lutherans,  papists, 
and  Calvinists.  We  had  some  very  pleasant  seasons  ;  but  have 
been  of  no  use,  that  I  know  of  Many  private  seasons  I  have 
enjoyed  of  great  pleasure,  and  have  a  growing  satisfaction  in 
having  undertaken  this  work,  and  a  growing  desire  for  its  suc- 
cess ;  though  I  feel  so  much  barrenness,  and  so  little  lively 
continual  sense  of  divine  things  upon  my  mind,  that  I  almost 
despair  of  ever  being  of  any  use.  But  in  general  I  feel  a 
pleasure  in  the  thought  that  Christ  has  promised  to  be  with 
his  ministers  until  the  end  of  the  world,  and  that  as  our  day  is, 
so  shall  our  strength  be.  I  have  often  felt  much  pleasure  in 
recollecting  the  times  of  public  worship  in  the  churches  in 
England,  and  reflecting  that  hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  are 
now  praying  for  me.  You  will  also  easily  believe  that  my 
friends  have  not  been  forgotten  by  me  on  these  occasions. 
Your  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  is  our  four  in  the  afternoon, 
there  being  six  hours  difference  of  time  between  you  and  us. 

'Mr.  Thomas  has  labored  indefatigably  in  translating  the 
book  of  Genesis,  which  he  has  now  accomplished.  We  ex- 
pect  in  a  few  days  to  join  Ram  Boshoo  and  Parbotee. 


80  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

'  I  hope  the  society  will  go  on  and  increase,  and  that  the 
multitudes  of  heathen  in  the  world  may  hear  the  glorious 
words  of  truth.  Africa  is  but  a  little  way  from  England  ; 
Madagascar  but  a  little  way  further ;  South  America,  and 
all  the  numerous  and  large  islands  in  the  Indian  and 
Chinese  seas,  I  hope  will  not  be  passed  over.  A  large 
field  opens  on  every  side,  and  millions  of  perishing  hea- 
thens, tormented  in  this  life  by  idolatry,  superstition,  and 
ignorance,  and  exposed  to  eternal  miseries  in  the  world  to 
come,  are  pleading ;  yea,  all  their  miseries  plead  as  soon  as 
they  are  known,  with  every  heart  that  loves  God,  and  with  all 
the  churches  of  the  living  God.  Oh,  that  many  laborers  may 
be  thrust  out  into  the  vineyard  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
that  the  Gentiles  may  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it 
is  in  Him ! 

'  You  will  do  us  very  great  service,  if  you  send  us  a  poly- 
glott  Bible  (there  is  one  at  Collis's)  by  the  next  conveyance. 
Ram  Boshoo  is  a  good  Persian  scholar,  and  it  will  certainly 
help  us  much.  If  you  can  get  a  copy  of  the  gospels  in  Malay, 
it  will  be  a  help  to  us.  I  would  wish  you  to  send  all  that  are 
published  of  Curtis's  Botanical  Magazine,  and  Sowerby's  En- 
glish Botany,  from  11  Cmtis,  and  No.  31  Sowerby.  Contmue 
sending  them  regularly,  and  deduct  what  they  cost  from  my 
allowance.  Whatever  is  published  of  note  in  England,  es- 
pecially among  the  Baptists,  I  hope  you  will  be  sure  to  send ; 
and,  in  return,  I  hope  we  may  be  able  to  send  you  tidings  that 
will  rejoice  your  hearts.' 

*  JVbvemfeer  14. 

'  After  beating  about,  and  driven  back  by  currents  for  nearly 
a  month,  we  arrived  in  Balasore  roads,  on  the  7th  instant,  and 
on  the  10th,  Mr.  Thomas  and  I  began  our  labors.  We  came  in 
a  ponsowah  from  the  ship,  and  at  slack  water  we  lay  to  at  a 
bazar  or  market,  when  Mr.  T.  preached  to  the  people.  They 
left  their  merchandise,  and  listened  for  three  hours  with  great 
attention.  One  of  them  prepared  us  a  dinner,  which  we  had 
on  a  plantain-leaf  for  dish  and  plates;  and  instead  of  knives 
and  forks,  we  used  our  fingers.  When  we  left  them,  they  de- 
sired us  to  come  again. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  81 

'  Poor  Ram  Boshoo  was  waiting  for  us,  but,  to  our  grief,  has 
been  bowing  to  idols  again.*  He  was  forsaken  by  European 
Christians,  and  discarded  by  Hindus,  and  he  says,  '  I  was  very 
ill;  nothing  to  support  me  or  my  family:  all  said  Mr.  T.  would 
not  return.  I  knew  the  Roman  Catholics  worshipped  idols ;  I 
thought  that  I  had  seen  but  a  small  part  of  the  Bible ;  perhaps 
the  worship  of  images  might  be  commanded  in  some  part  of 
it ;  but  it  was  for  a  piece  of  bread,  and  I  still  love  Christianity 
the  best.' 

'  25th.  Ram  Boshoo  still  keeps  close  to  us.  I  have  engaged 
him  as  a  mounshi.  I  am  also  much  pleased  with  his  conver- 
sation. We  also  hear  that  Parbotee  stands  well,  and  that  he 
and  Mohun  Chund  are  coming  down  to  us.  We  are,  to-day, 
making  application  to  the  governor,  for  uncultivated  lands  to 
settle  upon ;  which,  if  we  can  obtain  them,  will  be  an  asylum 
for  those  who  lose  caste  for  the  gospel's  sake.  I  have  had 
several  conversations  with  a  Brahmun  who  speaks  English 
well,  and,  being  unable  to  defend  himself  against  the  gospel, 
intends  to  come  attended  by  a  pundit,  and  try  the  utmost 
of  their  strength. 

'  Having  so  many  letters  to  write,  I  must  leave  off.  We  are 
all  well.  The  climate  at  this,  which  is  the  cold  season,  is  not 
disagreeable,  except  it  be  the  great  difference  between  the 
heat  of  day  and  night,  which  is  often  ten  degrees ;  but  the 
heat  is  quite  tolerable.  Mr.  T.  will  give  an  account  of  proper 
articles  of  trade  to  send  out ;  and  as  our  families  are  so  differ- 
ent, and  I  have  the  expense  of  a  mounshi  too,  I  hope  the 
society  will  settle  the  proportion  between  us.  The  more  I 
know,  the  more  I  love  him.  He  is  a  very  holy  man  ;  but  his 
faithfulness  often  degenerates  into  personality:  though  not  to 
me,  for  we  live  in  the  greatest  love.  My  family  is  well.  All 
join  m  love  to  you,  your  people,  all  ministers  and  Christians 
that  you  see  or  write  to,  and  the  society  especially. 

'  I  am  yours,  most  affectionately, 

'  To  Mr.  Fuller.  '  W.  Carey.' 


*  This  was  a  Hindu  who,  Mr.  Thomas  hoped,  was  converted  by  his  labors  when 
before  in  India. 


82  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

To  HIS  Sisters. 

'  Bandell,  Dec.  ith,  1793. 
'Dear  Sisters, 

'  You  are,  undoubtedly,  very  desirous  to  hear  of  me  and  my 
family;  and  though  I  have  nothing  of  any  consequence  to 
communicate,  yet  I  take  the  fii-st  opportunity  of  writing  to 
you.  The  wonderful  leadings  of  Providence,  in  so  ordering 
it  that  my  whole  family  should  come  with  me,  you  are  ac- 
quainted with. 

'  We  sailed  from  Dover,  June  13th,  and  arrived  all  safe  and 
well  at  Calcutta,  the  capital  city  of  Bengal,  on  the  11th  of 
November,  after  a  voyage  of  five  months  all  but  two  days ;  all 
which  time  we  never  were  out  of  the  ship,  though  we  were 
in  Europe,  America,  Africa,  and  Asia. 

'  Our  captain  was  an  Englishman,  and  half  brother  to  Lady 
Langham.  His  original  name  was  Smith ;  but  now  he  is  a 
naturalized  Dane,  and  his  name  is  changed  to  Christmas.  We 
found  him  a  remarkably  kind,  attentive  man ;  and,  excepting 
one  or  two  days,  in  which  we  lost  our  top-masts  through  the 
violence  of  the  sea,  and  several  long  and  tedious  calms,  our 
voyage  was  very  pleasant  and  agreeable.  The  childi-en  were 
complete  sailors;  and  the  women  were  much  better  than  I 
ever  expected. 

'We  had  opportunities  of  family  worship  every  day,  and 
preachmg  on  Lord's  days ;  and  though  our  congregation  was 
but  small,  yet  I  trust  we  were  not  without  enjoyment  of  God, 
and  his  blessing.  No  one  was  converted,  nor  any  good  done 
that  I  know  of,  yet  the  work  was  to  us  a  reward. 

'  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  of  the  real  piety  of  Mr. 
Thomas,  though  he  is  a  man  of  like  passions  Avith  others. 
And  now  that  we  are  upon  land,  we  preach  in  our  own  fami- 
lies, and  are  at  present  much  occupied  in  settling  ourselves  in 
this  situation.  The  place  where  we  live  is  about  thirty  miles 
from  Calcutta,  and  is  a  Portuguese  settlement.  Here  we  in- 
tend to  reside.  All  the  people  are  Catholics  and  Mahomedans ; 
but  many  Hindus  are  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  two ;  so  that 
there  is  work  enough  for  us  here  ;  and  ten  thousand  ministers 
would  find  full  employment  to  publish  the  gospel. 

'  The  country  is  amazingly  populous,  and  the  inhabitants 
are  very  attentive.     It  is  astonishing  to  see  the  different  kinds 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  83 

of  business  carried  on,  and  the  diligence  of  the  people.  They 
are  remarkably  talkative  and  curious ;  but,  go  where  you  will, 
you  are  sure  to  see  something  of  an  idolatrous  kind ;  flowers, 
trees,  or  little  temples  by  the  way-side,  consecrated  to  religious 
uses ;  and  I  have  seen  two  or  three  who  have  swimg  by  flesh- 
hooks,  with  the  mark  in  their  backs :  yet  they  are  very  willing 
to  hear,  and  you  are  sure  of  a  congregation,  go  where  you 
will.  Li  short,  every  thing  combines  to  encourage  us ;  and  to 
see  such  kind  people  so  ignorant  and  brutish,  is  enough  to  stir 
up  any  one  who  has  any  love  for  Christ  in  his  heart. 

'  The  country  is  very  fruitful,  but  more  than  half  uncultiva- 
ted. We  have  now  many  sorts  of  fi-uits  unknown  in  England. 
Pine-apples  grow  under  the  hedges.  It  is  now  the  height  of 
harvest  with  us.  The  days  are  as  hot  as  June  in  England ; 
but  the  nights  are  as  cold  as  September.  All  Bengal  is  a  flat 
country,  with  not  a  hill  in  it,  and  scarcely  a  stone.  Wild 
beasts  are  plentiful.  Jackals  are  every  where.  Mrs.  Thomas 
had  a  favorite  little  dog,  for  which  she  had  been  offered  200 
rupees,  carried  off"  from  the  door  by  one,  while  we  were  at 
prayer  one  evening,  and  the  door  open.  Yet  they  never  at- 
tack man.  Serpents  abound.  To-day  I  found  the  skin  of  one, 
about  six  feet  long,  which  was  just  cast  off*  in  my  garden. 
We  have  no  tigers  nearer  than  eight  or  ten  miles,  and  indeed 
have  no  more  fear  of  them  than  you  have  in  England.  Upon 
the  whole,  it  is  a  charming  country. 

'  I  have  no  doubt  but  I  shall  soon  learn  the  language.  Ram 
Boshoo,  my  mounshi  or  interpreter,  is  a  very  sensible  man, 
and,  I  hope,  a  very  pious  man.  I  have  not  yet  seen  Parbotee, 
but  expect  soon  to  have  him  down  here.  I  have  great  hope  of 
success  ;  but  their  superstitions  are  very  numerous,  and  their 
attachment  to  their  caste  so  strong,  that  they  would  rather  die 
than  lose  it  upon  any  account.  This  is  one  of  the  strongest 
bonds  that  ever  the  devil  used  to  bind  the  souls  of  men ;  and 
di-eadfully  effectual  it  is  indeed.  May  God  put  on  his  great 
power,  and  attend  his  word  with  great  success ! 

'I  hope  your  souls  are  prospering,  and  pray  you  not  to  be 
too  much  attached  to  this  present  world.  It  will  soon  perish, 
and  then  they  who  sow  to  the  flesh  will  find  that  to  be  car- 
nally minded  is  death.  Embrace  Christ,  with  all  the  conse- 
quences of  Christianity,  and  commit  all    your  ways    to  the 


84  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Lord.  Choose  affliction  always  rather  than  sin ;  and  let  it  be 
your  daily  business  to  walk  near  to  God,  and  to  endure  as 
seeing  him  who  is  invisible. 

'  For  my  own  part,  I  must  confess  my  wretched  carnality, 
indolence,  and  worldliness ;  yet,  if  I  find  satisfaction  in  any 
thing,  it  is  in  the  things  of  God,  and  in  the  exercises  of  re- 
ligion. 

'  I  am  at  present  incapable  of  preaching  to  the  Hindus.  I 
am  unacquainted  with  their  language  ;  and  my  whole  congi-e- 
gation  is  om-  two  families ;  so  that  the  work  of  the  ministry  is 
to  me  yet  a  very  dull  work ;  yet  I  find  some  sweet  pleasures 
in  it,  notwithstanding ;  and  I  promise  myself  much,  when  I 
am  able  to  go  and  publish  among  the  Gentiles  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ. 

'  I  am  your  most  affectionate  brother, 

'Wm.  Carey.' 


CHAPTER    III 


SECTION  I. 

THE    UNUSUALLY    TRYING    CIRCUMSTANCES   OF  MR.  CAREY  WHILE 

IN    THE    NEIGHBORHOOD    OF    CALCUTTA LETTER  TO  MR.  SUT- 

CLIFF HIS    REMOVAL    INTO  THE  SUNDERBUNDS THE  TIMELY 

HOSPITALITIES    HE    RECEIVES SUBSEQUENT    DEJECTION   AND 

PERPLEXITIES HE    IS    RELIEVED    AND    COMFORTED  BY  AN  IN- 
VITATION TO  MALDA. 

The  compiler  cannot  open  to  the  reader  the  ensuing  chapter 
without  bespeaking  his  candor,  by  intimating  the  serious  dif- 
ficulty he  experienced  in  the  selection  of  its  contents.  There 
were  some  delicate  points,  which,  upon  first  consideration,  it 
seemed  desirable  to  escape  from  noticing.  Facts  are  called 
into  review,  which  a  feeling  heart  would  rather  wish  to  con- 
ceal, and  even  to  obliterate  ;  a  mere  advertence  to  which  may 
convey  such  reflection  upon  individuals,  that  Christian  charity 
may  not  very  easily  tolerate.  Yet,  silently  to  pass  over  every 
incident  and  every  characteristic  remark,  how  important  soever 
it  might  be  to  the  design  of  such  a  volume,  because  of  their 
seemingly  unfriendly  aspect  upon  particular  persons,  would 
have  thrown  this  part  of  the  narrative  into  so  very  general  a 
style,  and  have  required  the  substitution  of  so  much  vague  and 
editorial,  for  vivid  autobiographical  composition,  as  to  have 
marred  its  interest,  if  it  did  not  interfere  with  its  integrity. 
The  embarrassments  and  afflictions  to  which  Mr.  Carey  was 
subject  the  first  year  and  a  half  from  his  arrival  in  India,  were 
such  as  few  have  encountered  in  modern  times,  and  which, 
yet,  were  borne  with  a  holy  heroism  and  a  pious  constancy, 
entitling  him  to  the  admiration  of  the  Christian  world.  So 
much  so,  that  the  ardor  and  the  patience  he  evinced,  in  pur- 
9 


86  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

suing  the  paramount  objects  of  his  mission,  and  in  sustaining 
the  adversities  surrounding  him,  would  justify  an  apostoUc 
declaration  in  his  case:  'None  of  these  things  move  me ;  nei- 
ther count  I  my  life  dear  unto  myself;  so  that  I  may  finish  my 
course  with  joy,  and  the  ministry  I  have  received  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.' 

The  reader  will  remember,  that  Mrs.  Carey,  in  the  fii'st 
instance,  refused,  and  was  afterwards,  with  much  difficulty,  pre- 
vailed upon  to  accompany  her  husband.  Though  at  length 
she  yielded  to  the  entreaties  of  Mr.  Thomas,  her  acquiescence 
was  reluctant,  and  her  devotion  to  the  work  but  partial. 
When  severe  trials  arose,  therefore,  as  they  soon  did  upon 
their  landing  in  India,  she  was  quite  unequal  to  their  en- 
durance. Their  resources,  slender  from  the  first,  were  fast 
exhausting ;  their  little  comforts,  becoming  more  circumscribed 
and  scaiity,  were  every  hour  diminishing,  without  the  least 
prospect  of  replenishment  from  any  known  source.  But  will 
not  the  Christian  female  be  slow  to  censure,  and  be  rather 
tender  to  commiserate  ?  A  mother,  with  a  young  and  infant 
family,  in  a  foreign  land,  without  the  presence  of  a  single 
friend  to  soothe  her,  or  the  power  of  uttering  or  miderstanding 
a  sentence  beyond  the  limits  of  her  household,  the  very  abode 
they  lodged  in,  incommodious  as  it  was,  secured  to  them  only 
by  the  daily  sufferance  of  a  native.  Week  after  week  passed 
away,  until  they  were  brought  almost  to  the  brink  of  starvation. 
Let  it  be  remembered,  too,  that  every  thing  in  her  former  life 
and  her  physical  constitution,  was  unfavorable  to  the  stern  and 
sublime  exercise  of  the  Christian  virtues  to  which  her  circum- 
stances now  called  her.  Brought  up  in  an  obscure  village, 
without  any  advantages  of  mental,  and  few  of  religious  culture, 
with  a  spirit  unusually  timid,  and  a  bodily  frame  always  feeble, 
it  was  no  wonder  she  should  be  dismayed  when  such  trials 
befell  her,  as  might  make  ev^en  firm  and  disciplined  minds 
falter  and  quail.  Besides  all  this,  it  is  now  past  doubt  that  the 
incipient  inroads  of  monomania,  which  so  distracted  the  last 
years  of  her  life,  and  the  malignant  influence  of  which  con- 
tinued to  her  death,  was  unhinging  her  intelligence,  and 
corroding  her  passions.  And  this  is  the  main  plea  of  the 
compiler  for  introducing  a  subject  of  such  painful  delicacy. 
Had  this  been  clearly  apprehended  by  Mr.  Carey,  at  the  time 


MEMOIR    OF    DR,  CAREY.  87 

the  events  of  which  we  are  now  describing-,  melancholy  as 
was  the  fact,  it  would  in  some  degree,  have  eased  the  angtiish 
of  his  heart,  it  being  certain  that  the  bitter  anxiety  she  occa- 
sioned him  then,  and  to  the  close  of  her  life,  was  justly 
imputable  to  her  awful  malady,  and  not  to  be  reckoned  as  her 
sin. 

-AnQthei;_agLictioii,  and  almost  equally  severe  with  that  just 
brought  into  view,  which  exercised  the  patience  of  Mr.  Carey, 
arose  from  the  character  of  his  companion.  He  was  unthink- 
ing, unthrifty,  versatile,  and  capricious ;  characteristics  the 
very  opposite  of  those  which  constituted  the  mind  and  deter- 
mined the  conduct  of  Mr.  Carey.  He  was  deliberate,  frugal, 
and  self-denying ;  clearly  defining  to  himself  some  great  mas- 
ter object,  and  pursuing  it,  through  fire  and  through  water ; 
whilst,  in  all  minor  interests,  he  was  compliant  to  the  will  of 
others,  and  was  always  ready  to  resign  the  secularities  of  life 
to  any  one  disposed  to  assume  their  management.  The  little 
money  they  had  in  hand  was  in  Mr.  Thomas's  keeping,  who 
took  his  measures,  and  disbursed  funds,  almost  independently 
of  the  advice,  and  frequently  with  too  little  apparent  regard  to  the 
comfort,  of  his  friend.  Having  been  twice  a  resident  in  India 
before,  it  was  not  surprising  that,  in  temporal  arrangements, 
and  during  the  early  part  of  their  residence,  Mr.  Carey  should 
defer  to  his  opinion,  and  yield  himself  to  his  guidance.  This 
was  so  far  the  case,  that  in  a  few  months  they  were  all  reduced 
to  destitution.  He  also  appeared  for  a  time  as  though  disposed 
to  relinquish  the  mission,  and  actually  commenced  business  in 
his  own  profession.  Not  that  his  companion  conceived  him 
to  entertain  any  purpose  of  ultimately  renouncing  their  united 
work  ;  but  a  temporary  and  seeming  recession  from  it,  was  to 
him  a  source  of  most  poignant  sorrow.  Nevertheless,  he 
always  referred  to  Mr.  Thomas  with  marked  tenderness,  and 
attributed  those  parts  of  his  conduct  most  difficult  to  interpret, 
and  most  destructive  to  his  own  comfort,  to  some  infelicity  in  his 
constitutional  temperament,  rather  than  to  any  deliberate  pur- 
pose of.  doing  wrong,  or  of  acting  unkindly.  When  we  recur 
to  Mr.  Thomas  in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  work,  the  reader 
will  meet  with  the  true  solution  of  what  at  this  period  may  seem 
eccentric  in  his  character,  and  strangely  erratic  in  his  de- 
meanor.    Those  notices,  in  the  mean  time,  which  may  present 


88  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

him  in  a  light,  less  gratifying  than  that  in  which  a  benevolent 
mind  would  desire  to  view  him,  must  be  perused  with  forbear- 
ing tenderness. 

Long  and  circumstantial  religious  diaries  are  a  species  of 
composition,  to  many  readers,  not  very  agreeable  or  edifying. 
That  they  may  be  serviceable,  in  some  instances,  to  those  who 
keep  them,  may  be  easily  conceived.  A  faithful  record  and  a 
rigid  review  of  our  religious  experience  and  affections,  may 
be  helpful  to  a  better  control  of  our  minds  and  deportment  in 
future :  but  that  great  circumspection  is  needful,  in  those  who 
preserve  such  memorials  of  their  spiritual  life,  is  evident ;  nor 
less  so,  that  great  patience  is  ordinarily  required  in  those  who 
read  them.  The  often  reiterated  and  severe  animadversions 
of  David  Brainerd,  upon  his  own  mental  feelings  and  conflicts, 
are  tiresome  and  oppressive.  He  was  imitated  to  an  extreme 
by  Mr.  Martyn ;  though  the  copy  is  a  great  improvement  upon 
the  original,  it  being  far  less  tedious,  and  in  a  measure  freed 
from  its  irrelievable  gloom.  With  how  much  more  of  that 
'  hope '  by  which  '  we  are  saved '  does  a  person  rise  from  pe- 
rusing the  memior  of  Jesus  Christ,  given  by  the  Evangelists, 
than  he  attains  by  the  study  of  that  of  his  servant  above  refer- 
red to ! 

Before  Mr.  Carey  left  England,  he  was  deeply  imbued  with 
North  American  theology.  President  Edwards,  its  great  master, 
was  his  admired  author.  The  strong  and  absorbing  view  in 
which  he  exhibited  some  leading  principles  in  the  systeni  of 
revealed  truth,  seeming  so  clearly  to  explode  the  errors  of 
Arminianism  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  pseudo-Calvinism  on 
the  other,  and  to  throw  such  a  flood  of  irresistible  light  on  the 
mediatorial  dispensation,  as  perfectly  cai)tivated,  and  almost 
entranced,  the  ministerial  circle  with  which  Mr.  Carey  was 
connected.  David  Brainerd  was  supposed,  by  President  Ed- 
wards, to  exemplify  and  irradiate  the  main  features  of  his  own 
system.  This,  indeed,  was  a  principal  reason  why  he  com- 
piled the  history  of  his  religious  experience  and  labors:  and 
hence  it  became  the  constant  manual  of  the  devoted  admirers 
of  that  gi-eat  man's  theological  system;  v/hilst  its  intrinsic 
worth,  as  offering  a  sublime  and  experimental  display  of  re- 
ligious affections,  through  a  scene  of  arduous  labor  and 
patient  suffering,  rendered  it  the  devotional  guide  of  multi- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 


tudes  who  remained  strangers  to  that  grand  theory  of  evan- 
gelical sentiment  it  was  conceived  to  illustrate.  Dr.  Ryland, 
the  intimate  friend  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  often 
heard  to.  say,  that  '  Brainerd's  life  ranked  with  him  next  to  his 
Bible.'  In  his  esteem  of  this  eminent  saint  and  prince  of  mis- 
sionaries, Mr.  Carey  was  not  behind  him.  His  trials,  during 
the  early  period  of  his  residence  in  India,  were  not  inferior  to 
those  of  Brainerd ;  they  were  even  more  severe,  complicated, 
and  perplexing,  and  the  religious  devotion  he  manifested  under 
them  Avas  equally  pure,  if  not  equally  intense.  Of  this  the  read- 
er will  presently  have  proof  I  have  simply  desired  to  record 
so  much  of  his  experience  as  appeared  relevant  to  his  mis- 
sion ;  so  much  of  his  pleasures  or  his  pains,  his  hopes  or  his 
fears,  his  successes  or  his  disappointments,  as  met  him  while 
pursuing  the  grand  purpose  of  his  life :  for  the  missionary 
spirit  was  so  much  incorporated  with  all  he  thought,  and  felt, 
and  did,  that  to  commemorate  the  missioiiary,  is  to  describe 
the  Christian. 

'  Nov.  9th,  1793.  To-day  was  the  first  time  of  an  interview 
with  the  Hindus.  Two  boats  came  to  sell  us  fish  ;  and  Mr.  T. 
asked  the  men  in  one  of  them,  whether  they  had  any  shastras? 
Their  answer  was,  '  We  are  poor  men ;  those  who  have  many 
cowries  (or  are  rich)  read  the  shastras,  but  we  do  not  know 
them.'  I  like  their  appearance  very  much :  they  appear  to  be 
intelligent  persons,  though  of  the  lowest  caste  ;  rather  beneath 
the  middle  stature,  and  apparently  attentive  to  whatever  was 
said  to  them.  We  have  not  yet  been  ashore ;  but  on  Monday 
we  intend,  God  willing,  to  go.  O  may  my  heart  be  prepared 
for  our  work,  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ  be  set  up  among  the 
poor  Hindus ! 

'  1794,  Jan.  13.  For  these  two  months  past,  I  have  seen 
nothing  but  a  continual  moving  to  and  fro.  For  three  weeks 
w^e  were  at  Calcutta  selling  our  venture  ;  but  the  great  expense 
into  which  Mr.  T.  had  inadvertently  given,  of  servants,  &c., 
filled  my  mind  with  anxiety  and  wretchedness  ;  and  the  con- 
tinual hurry  of  business  took  up  all  my  time,  and  preyed  upon 
my  soul:  so  that  the  prospect  of  worldly  poverty,  and  the 
want  of  a  sense  of  divine  things,  filled  me  with  constant  dis- 
content and  restlessness  of  mind.  We  therefore  went  an 
excursion  into  the  country,  when  we  had  the  offer  of  either 
9* 


90  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

buying  or  renting  a  house  at  Bandell.  Wc  thougiit  at  first  of 
purchasing ;  but,  the  time  approaching  when  we  must  pay, 
and  money  not  being  at  hand,  we  changed  our  minds ;  and, 
from  that  moment,  my  mind  was  fully  determined  to  go  up 
into  the  country,  and  build  me  a  hut,  and  live  like  the  natives. 
Mr.  T.  had  entertained  thoughts  of  settling  in  his  professibn 
at  Calcutta,  on  account  of  his  creditors ;  but,  upon  my  deter- 
mination to  go  up  the  country,  he  resolved  not  to  leave  me. 
One  day,  however,  he  went  to  Calcutta,  and  while  he  was 
there,  he  was  informed  by  captain  Christmas,  that  the  Com- 
pany had  been  looking  out  for  a  person  of  botanical  .ability,  to 
superintend  the  Company's  garden.  Being  advertised  of  this, 
I  went  to  Calcutta,  but  found  the  station  disposed  of  already. 
Mr.  T.  having  determined  to  reside  there,  I  inquired  of  a 
Banian  whether  land  could  be  procured  near  Calcutta,  who 
informed  me  that  it  might.  I  went,  therefore,  and  we  brought 
our  families  down  to  Calcutta  again ;  he  in  expectation  of 
settling  there,  and  I  in  expectation  of  having  land  to  settle 
tipon.  Upon  our  arrival,  I  found  that  I  had  only  been  trifled 
with  about  land,  and  that  no  free  land  could  be  got  now.  The 
Banian  offered  me  to  live  in  his  garden-house,  till  some  could 
begot;  at  which  house  I  now  am,  at  Manicktullo,  and  have 
sent  a  trusty  old  native  to  procure  jungle  land,  at  Deharta, 
about  sixteen  coss,  or  thirty-two  miles,  from  Calcutta,  to  the 
eastward,  where,  if  I  succeed,  I  intend  to  build  a  bungalow,  or 
straw-house,  and  cultivate  about  fifty  or  one  hundred  biggahs 
of  land.  The  uncle  of  Ram  Boshoo  being  zemindar  in  that 
place,  I  have  hope  of  succeeding ;  but  have  had  much  trial  for 
both  faith  and  patience.  I  shall  be  thirty-two  miles  from  Mr. 
T.  My  wife,  and  sister  too,  who  do  not  see  the  importance 
of  the  mission  as  I  do,  are  continually  exclaiming  against  me ; 
and  as  for  Mr.  T.,  they  think  it  very  hard  indeed  that  he  should 
live  in  a  city,  in  an  affluent  manner,  and  they  be  forced  to  go 
into  a  wilderness,  and  live  without  many  of  what  they  call  the 
necessaries  of  life,  bread  in  particular.  But  I  not  only  am 
convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  hving  in  Calcutta,  but  also 
of  the  importance  of  a  missionary  being  like,  and  living 
amongst,  his  people.  The  success  of  future  missions,  also, 
lies  near  my  heart ;  and  I  am  fearful  lest  the  great  expense  of 
sending  out  my  family  should  be  a  check  upon  the  zeal  of  the 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  91 

society :  how  much  more,  if  I  should  now  live  upon  a  European 
plan,  and  incur  greater  charge.  Now  I  see  the  value  of  faith, 
in  some  measure,  and  think  I  feel  more  than  ordinary  sweet- 
ness in  the  word  of  God.  O  may  I  again  taste  the  sweets  of 
social  religion,  which  I  have  given  up,  and  see,  in  this  land  of 
darkness,  a  people  formed  for  God ! ' 

Mr.  Carey  describes  some  of  the  painful  circumstances 
of  his  predicament  at  this  time,  in  a  letter  to  his  friend,  Mr. 
SutclifF. 

ManicktuUo,  Jan.  3,  1794. 

'  My  dear  Brother, 

*  I  shall  not  be  able  to  communicate  more  to  you  by  this, 
than  what  you  will  hear  through  the  medium  of  other  letters 
sent  to  England ;  yet,  I  think  I  should  be  wanting  in  friendship 
if  I  neglected  to  write  to  you,  especially  considering  the  ties  of 
Christian  affection  by  which  I  am  bound  to  you. 

'  Our  voyage  was  very  long,  as  you  will  find  from  my  letter 
to  the  society,  but  it  was  also  very  agreeable ;  though  the  com- 
pany on  board  a  ship  is  the  most  injurious  to  the  soul  that  can 
be  conceived.  All  is  carnal  gentility,  and  religion  is  the 
furthest  from  their  thoughts  of  any  thing  in  the  world. 

'We  arrived  at  Calcutta  on  the  11th  of  November,  and  have 
been  in  an  unsettled  state  ever  since.  We  found  Mrs.  T.  in  a 
house  there  ;  but  the  expense  of  living  there  being  very  great, 
we  removed  to  Bandell.  This  was,  however,  a  place  where  we 
could  not  enter  into  that  state  which  missionaries  should  live 
in,  namely,  a  state  of  similarity  to  that  of  the  people  among 
whom  they  labor :  we,  therefore,  intended  going  further  up  the 
country,  and  mixing  with  the  natives;  but  one  of  Mr.  Thomas's 
creditors  had  sent  his  bond  to  India,  and  he  is  not  sure  that 
others  have  not  done  the  same,  so  that  he  is  in  perpetual  danger 
of  being  put  under  an  arrest.  In  this  state  of  perplexity,  we 
knew  not  what  to  do.  We  went  to  Nuddea,  and  he,  myself, 
and  Mounshi  sought  the  Lord  by  prayer  for  direction.  Several 
of  the  most  learned  Pundits  and  Brahmuns  much  wished  us  to 
settle  there ;  and,  as  that  is  the  great  place  for  eastern  learning, 
we  seemed  inclined,  especially  as  it  is  the  bulwark  of  heathen- 
ism, which,  if  once  carried,  all  the  rest  of  the  country  must  be 
laid  open  to  us.     Our  captain  had  promised  to  apply  to  some 


U2  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

of  the  Company's  officers  for  waste  lands  for  us  to  settle  upon; 
we  therefore  agreed  to  wait  till  we  heard  of  his  success.  In 
the  mean  time,  several  of  Mr.  Thomas's  friends  entreated  him 
to  settle  at  Calcutta,  and  follow  his  profession ;  and  some  of 
the  most  opulent  natives  offered  him  their  business,  and  at  the 
same  time  expressed  a  desire  that  we  would  settle  there,  and 
instruct  them,  especially  as  there  are  200,000  natives  or  more 
in  this  town,  besides  the  suburbs,  which  are  as  populous  as  the 
environs  of  London.  He  was  afraid  of  his  creditors,  who,  if  he 
did  no  business,  would  be  quite  out  of  patience  ;  yet,  determin- 
ed to  go  with  me  if  I  went  up  the  country.  While  we  were 
hesitating,  he  went  down  to  Calcutta,  where  he  was  informed 
that  waste  land  could  not  be  obtained  of  the  Company ;  but 
the  captain  had  often  spoken  of  me  as  a  person  of  botanical 
taste,  and  had  lent  a  botanical  work  of  mine  to  one  who  is  high 
in  the  service.  He  desired  that  I  might  call  upon  him,  which 
I  did ;  when  I  found  that  a  person  of  botanical  taste  had  been 
sought  for  some  time,  to  superintend  a  part  of  the  Company's 
botanical  garden,  but  that  a  person  had  lately  been  put  into  it. 
He  invited  me  to  dine  with  him,  and  offered  me  considerable 
kindness ;  and  there  is  reason  to  suppose,  that  I  may  be  pre- 
sented with  a  place  there.  This,  concurring  with  other  cir- 
cumstances above  mentioned,  induced  Mr.  T.  to  determine 
upon  Calcutta  for  his  residence  ;  and  I  intend  to  take  land  of 
Brahmuns,  or  other  natives,  and  settle  in  the  neighborhood, 
and  wait  till  I  see  the  event  of  things.  You  see  that  I  have  not 
been  following  my  own  plan ;  but  I  confess  that  I  have  com- 
plied with  Mr.  T.'s  wishes  contrary  to  my  own  private  judg- 
ment. I  think  it  the  most  practicable  of  any,  notwithstanding; 
and  am,  myself,  going  to  adopt  it  immediately,  unless  the  Lord 
should  appear,  and  more  liberally  supply  me,  by  giving  me  the 
employment  I  mentioned.  This  would  be  a  pleasant  and  pro- 
fitable amusement,  and  would  take  up  very  little  of  my  time. 
This,  however,  I  leave  with  God. 

'I  have  already  learned  so  much  of  the  language,  as  to 
miderstaud  a  few  phrases,  and  many  words ;  but  having  so 
many  who  speak  English  about  me,  is  a  disadvantage.  The 
characters  are  about  six  hundred,  which  I  send  you  a  specimen 

r\-r        ^      Tf      vf'      9F      7p      ^ 

'  Since  I  have  been  here,  my  family  has  been  much  afflicted : 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  93 

my  wife  and  two  eldest  children  have  been  very  ill  for  a  month 
past,  and  my  eldest  son  is  now  far  from  being  out  of  danger. 
These  things  are  a  great  affliction,  and  severely  felt ;  but  I  trust 
that  all  will  work  for  good,  and  in  the  end  bring  forth  fruit  to 
the  praise  and  glory  of  God.  Through  divine  mercy,  I  have 
all  along  enjoyed  very  good  health,  and  so  has  my  sister;  the 
rest  of  us  are  all  much  better,  except  Felix.  If  my  family  were 
but  hearty  in  the  work,  I  should  find  a  great  burden  removed ; 
but  the  carnal  discourse  of  the  passage,  and  the  pomp  and 
grandeur  of  Europeans  here,  have  intoxicated  their  minds,  so 
as  to  make  them  unhappy  in  one  of  the  finest  countries  in  the 
world,  and  lonely  in  the  midst  of  a  hundred  thousand  people- 
These  are  burdens  and  afflictions  to  me ;  but  I  bless  God  that 
I  faint  not ;  and  when  my  soul  can  drink  her  fill  at  the  word 
of  God,  I  forget  all.  Mr.  T.  is  a  very  good  man,  but  only  fit  to 
live  at  sea,  where  his  daily  business  is  before  him,  and  daily 
provision  made  for  him.  I  own,  I  fear  that  his  present  under- 
taking will  be  hurtful  rather  than  useful  to  him:  the  fickleness 
of  liis  mind  makes  him  very  unfit  for  such  an  undertaking.  I 
love  him,  and  we  live  in  the  greatest  harmony ;  but  I  confess 
that  Ram  Boshoo  is  much  more  a  man  after  my  heart. 
He  is  a  faithful  counsellor,  and  a  discerning  man.  He  is  very 
inquisitive  and  intelligent,  tliough,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  his 
timidity  has  been  a  snare  to  him.  He  is,  I  doubt  not,  a  truly 
converted  man  ;  and  if  he  wants  any  thing,  it  is  zeal.  I  have 
been  seriously  talking  with  him  to-day,  and  hope  that  in  a 
little  time  I  may  see  a  church  formed  for  God ;  but  time  alone 
can  show  this.  The  superstitions  and  religious  follies  of  this 
people  I  know  too  little  of  to  say  much  about,  and  long  obser- 
vation alone  can  tell  precisely  what  they  are.  They  worship 
one  God,  and  have  tolerable  notions  of  his  moral  perfections, 
except  that  they  uniformly  believe  him  to  be  the  cause  of  sin. 
Their  ideas  of  redemption  are  very  confused.  All  their  sup- 
posed gods  are  good  men  departed,  or  useful  creatures  ;  and 
they  suppose  that  offerings  made  to  them  are  acceptable  to 
God.  Polygamy  is  very  common,  but  lying  and  cheating  are 
their  national  character.  As  I  observe  more,  I  shall  communi- 
cate more. 

'I  hope,  when  you  sold  my  furniture,  you  did  not  forget  to 
pay  yourself  what  I  was  indebted  to  you.     But  I  must  conclude, 


94  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

with  my  warmest  love  to  all  your  friends,  all  ministers  of  my 
acquaintance,  and  all  who  love  God  ;  but,  esx^ecially,  I  am  very 
affectionately  yours,  W.  Carey.' 

'Rev.  J.  Sutcliff;01ney.' 

Journal  continued. 

'  Jan.  15,  16.  On  the  first  of  these  days,  I  received  an  ac- 
count that  I  may  have  as  much  land  as  I  please,  for  three  years, 
for  nothing,  and  after  that,  to  pay  a  small  rent  per  annum.  1 
therefore  went  to  Mr.  T.  to  consult  him,  and  to  obtain  money ; 
when  I  found  that  my  all  was  expended,  and  that  Mr.  T.  was 
already  in  debt.  I  was  much  dejected  at  this.  I  am  in  a 
strange  land,  alone,  no  Christian  friend,  a  large  family,  and 
nothing  to  supply  their  Avants.  I  blame  Mr.  T.  for  leading  me 
into  such  expense  at  first,  and  I  blame  myself  for  being  led ; 
though  I  acceded  to  what  I  much  disapjproved  of,  because  I 
thought  he  knew  the  country  better,  and  was  in  earnest  to  go 
and  live  up  the  country ;  and  that,  for  a  week  or  two,  while  we 
sold  our  venture,  it  would  be  a  greater  expense  to  have  a 
separate  house  and  servants  than  for  us  to  live  together.  I  am 
dejected,  not  for  my  own  sake,  but  my  family's,  and  his,  for 
whom  [  tremble.  He  is  now  at  the  certain  expense  of  £400 
per  annum ;  and  unless  he  has  speedy  practice,  he  must  be 
irrecoverably  involved.  I  must  borrow  five  hundred  rupees,  if 
I  can ;  with  which  1  intend  to  build  a  hut  or  two,  and  retire 
to  the  wilderness.  There  are  many  serpents  and  tigers,  but 
Christ  has  said  his  followers  shall  take  up  serpents,  &c., 
unhurt. 

'  1794,  Jan.  17.  Went  to  Calcutta  to  Mr.  T.  for  money,  but 
to  no  purpose.  Was  very  much  dejected  all  day.  Have  no 
relish  for  any  thing  of  the  world,  yet  am  swallowed  up  in  its 
cares.  Towards  evening,  had  a  pleasant  view  of  the  all-suf- 
ficiency of  God,  and  the  stability  of  his  promises,  which  much 
relieved  my  mind ;  and  as  I  walked  home  in  the  night,  was 
enabled  to  roll  my  soul  and  all  my  cares  in  some  measure  on 
God.  On  my  coming  home,  I  found  all  much  more  calm  than 
I  expected  ;  for  which  I  bless  God,  and  pray  that  he  may  direct 
us  into  the  patient  waiting  for  Christ.  What  a  mercy  it  is  to 
have  a  God ;  and  how  miserable  must  they  be  who  have  no 
knowledge  of  or  value  for  the  throne  of  grace  ! 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  95 

'  18.  I  find  the  ardor  of  my  mind  after  divine  things  less, 
and  my  soul  too  much  swallowed  up  with  the  things  of 
this  present  world.  O  that  I  could  live  entirely  to  and  for 
God! 

'  19.  This  day,  as  every  Sabbath  since  we  have  been  in  the 
country,  we  went  among  the  natives.  For  these  three  last 
Lord's  days  we  have  discoursed  to  a  pretty  large  congregation 
at  Manicktullo  bazaar  or  market;  for  we  have  just  the  same 
business  done  here  on  that  day  as  any  other.  Our  congrega- 
tion consisted  principally  of  Mahomedans,  and  has  increased 
every  Lord's  day.  They  are  very  inquisitive,  and  we  have  ad- 
dressed them  upon  the  subject  of  the  gospel  with  the  greatest 
freedom,  and  in  the  following  manner.  A  burial-place,  with  a 
consecrated  tomb,  where  offerings  are  daily  made  to  the  spirit 
of  the  departed  person,  was  near ;  some  inquiries  about  the 
reason  of  their  offerings  were  made,  which  led  on  to  questions 
on  their  part ;  and  then  the  gospel  and  the  Koran  insensibly 
became  the  subject  of  conversation.  They  alleged  the  divine 
original  of  the  Koran ;  we  inquired,  '  Have  you  ever  seen  or 
read  it  ? '  The  universal  answer  was,  No !  But  to-day  a  man 
came  who  pretended  to  have  seen  it.  We  asked  him  if  he 
knew  the  beginning  of  every  chapter,  for  the  chapters  all  begin 
with  these  words :  '  In  the  name  of  God,  gracious  and  merci- 
ful ; '  but  he  said  no,  for  it  was  written  in  Arabic,  and  no  one 
could  understand  it.  The  question  now  was,  '  Then  how  can 
you  obey  it  ? '  and  '  wherefore  are  you  Mahomedans  ? '  To  this 
they  could  not  reply.  They  said,  and  so  says  the  Koran,  that 
the  Koran  was  sent  to  confirm  the  words  of  Scripture.  We 
insisted  that  the  Bible  said,  '  Whosoever  shall  add  to  or  dimin- 
ish from  the  word  of  God,  shall  be  under  the  curse  of  God;' 
but  the  Koran  was  written  after  the  Bible,  and  pretends  to 
divine  authority ;  therefore,  if  the  gospel  be  true,  Mahomed 
must  be  accursed,  and  the  Koran  of  no  authority ;  and  if  the 
Bible  be  not  true,  the  Koran  cannot,  for  that,  you  say,  was  to 
confirm  it.  They  answered,  that  the  Jews  and  Christians  had 
corrupted  the  Bible,  which  was  the  reason  why  God  made  the 
revelation  by  Mahomed.  We  answered,  '  then  how  could  the 
Koran  come  to  confirm  it?  if  it  was  corrupted,  it  needed  cor- 
rection, not  confirmation.'  Being  driven  to  the  last  shift,  they 
said,  'Mahomed  was  the  friend  of  God,  but  Esu,  by  whom  they 


96  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

mean  Jesus,  was  the  spirit  of  God :'  to  which  Mounshi  shrewdly 
rephed,  '  Then  which  would  you  think  highest,  your  friend,  or 
your  soul  or  spirit?'  All  this  they  bore  with  great  good 
temper;  but  what  effect  it  may  have,  time  must  determine. 
Many  more  things  were  said  to  recommend  the  gospel,  and 
the  way  of  life  by  Christ;  and  as  night  came  on  we  left 
them. 

'20.  This  has  been  a  day  of  seeking  money.  Had  an  offer 
of  a  bungalow,  belonging  to  the  Company,  at  Deharta,  till  I 
can  get  a  place  made  for  myself  and  family :  so  that  it  has 
been  a  day  of  mercy,  though,  to  my  shame,  of  spiritual  bar- 
renness. 

'21.  Felt  some  pleasure  in  the  morning  in  prayer,  but  all 
the  rest  of  the  day  was  at  an  awful  distance  from  God.  This 
evening  I  had  a  very  profitable  conversation  with  Mounshi 
about  sjjiritual  things  ;  and  I  do  hope  that  he  may  one  day  be 
a  veiy  useful  and  eminent  man.  I  am  so  well  able  to  under- 
stand him,  and  he  me,  that  we  are  determined  to  begin  cor- 
recting the  translation  of  Genesis  to-morrow. 

'  22.  I  am  full  of  perplexity  about  temporal  things  ;  but  the 
word  of  God  is  sure,  which  abundantly  promises  every  thing 
that  1  can  want.  My  wife  has,  within  this  day  or  two,  relapsed 
into  her  afHiction,  and  is  much  worse  than  she  was  before ; 
but  in  the  mount  the  Lord  is  seen.  I  wish  I  had  but  more  of 
God  in  my  soul,  and  felt  more  submission  in  my  heart  to  his 
will ;  this  would  set  me  above  all  things  else.  I  feel  happy, 
however,  in  this,  that  I  am  in  my  work,  and  that  is  the  work  of 
God ;  and  the  more  I  am  employed  in  it,  the  more  I  find  it  a 
rich  reward. 

'  23.  This  day  I  feel  what  it  is  to  have  the  testimony  of  a 
good  conscience,  even  in  the  smallest  matters.  My  temporal 
troubles  remain  just  as  they  were.  I  have  a  place,  but  cannot 
remove  my  family  to  it  for  want  of  money.  Mr.  T.  has  now 
begim  to  set  his  face  another  way.  At  his  motion  I  went  to 
Calcutta ;  then  to  Bandell,  at  which  place  all  our  money  was 
expended.  He  ordered  all  the  expenses,  and  lived  in  his  own 
way ;  to  which  I  acceded,  though  sore  against  my  will.  He 
was  inclined  first,  then  determined,  to  practise  surgery  at 
Calcutta.  I  agreed  to  come  and  settle  as  near  him  as  possible, 
though  I  had  previously  intended  to  go  to  Gowr,  near  Malda ; 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  97 

and  all  this  that  I  might  not  be  first  in  a  breach  of  our  mutual 
undertaking.  Now  he  is  buying,  and  selling,  and  living  at  the 
rate  of  I  know  not  how  much,  I  suppose  250  or  300  rupees 
per  month,  has  twelve  servants,  and  this  day  is  talking  of  keep- 
mg  his  coach.  I  have  remonstrated  with  him  in  vain,  and  I 
am  almost  afraid  that  he  intends  to  throw  up  the  mission. 
How  all  these  things  can  be  agreeable  to  a  spiritual  mind,  I 
know  not.  But  now  all  my  friends  are  but  one ;  I  rejoice, 
however,  that  he  is  all-sufficient,  and  can  supply  all  my  wants, 
spiritual  and  temporal.  My  heart  bleeds  for  him,  for  my 
family,  for  the  Society,  whose  steadfastness  must  be  shaken  by 
this  report,  and  for  the  success  of  the  mission,  which  must  re- 
ceive a  sad  blow  from  this.  But  why  is  my  soul  disquieted 
within  me  ?  Things  may  turn  out  better  than  I  expect :  every 
thing  is  known  to  God,  and  God  cares  for  the  mission.  O  for 
contentment,  delight  in  God,  and  much  of  his  fear  before  my 
eyes !  Bless  God,  I  feel  peace  within,  and  rejoice  in  having 
undertaken  the  work,  and  shall,  I  feel  I  shall,  if  I  not  only 
labor  alone,  but  even  if  I  should  lose  my  life  in  the  undertaking. 
I  anxiously  desire  the  time  when  I  shall  so  far  know  the 
language,  as  to  preach  in  earnest  to  these  poor  people. 

'  24.  I  wish  to  feel  myself  always  in  the  exercise  of  a  spirit 
of  meekness,  but  feel  it  hard  work.  Yesterday  my  mind  was 
much  hurt  to  see  what  I  thought  a  degree  of  selfishness  in  my 
friend,  which  amounted  to  an  almost  total  neglect  of  me,  my 
family,  and  the  mission  ;  though  I  do  not  think  he  seriously 
intends  to  neglect  either,  but  inadvertently  runs  into  such 
things  as  make  it  impossible  to  attend  to  either.  This  morning 
went  to  visit  a  professor  of  religion  to  whom  I  was  recom- 
mended at  the  Isle  of  Wight ;  but,  to  my  sorrow,  found  him  at 

dice.     From  thence  went  to  visit  the  Rev. .*     He  is 

an  evangelical  preacher  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  received 
me  with  cool  politeness.  I  staid  near  an  hour  with  him  ; 
found  him  a  very  sensible  man  ;  but  a  marked  disgust  prevails, 
on  both  sides,  between  him  and  Mr.  T,  He  carried  himself  as 
greatly  my  superior,  and  I  left  him  without  his  having  so  much 
as  asked  me  to  take  any  refreshment,  though  he  knew  I  had 

*  This  same  gentleman,  to  his  commendation  we  record  it,  became  afterwards  one 
of  the  best  friends  of  the  Baptist  Mission. 

10 


98  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

walked  five  miles  in  the  heat  of  the  sun.  To-day  found  my 
mind  more  cahn,  but  tlie  evening  was  turbulent  and  stormy. 

'  25.  Was  employed  in  buying  some  necessaries  for  our  re- 
moval into  the  wilderness,  and  after  that  was  done,  further  en- 
gaged in  correcting  Genesis.  There  are  some  things  that 
have  no  name  in  Bengali,  being  utterly  unknown,  as  whales : 
but  found  no  very  great  difficulties  to-day.  Have  reason  to 
bless  God  for  a  day  of  quietness  and  calmness,  though  I  must 
mourn  over  my  barrenness,  and  the  strange  stupidity  of  my 
heart.  I  have  abundant  cause  for  thankfulness,  but  have  an 
unthankful  heart.  I  feel  pleasure  in  the  work  and  ways  of 
God,  but  have  a  disobedient  soul.  When  will  the  Lord  take 
full  possession  of  my  mind,  and  abide  there  for  ever? 

'26.  Lord's  day.  All  the  morning  I  had  a  most  unpleasant 
time,  but  at  last  found  much  pleasure  in  reading  Edwards  on 
the  Justice  of  God  in  the  damnation  of  sinners.  Then  went 
to  visit  our  congregation  of  natives  again;  they  gave  very 
great  attention,  and  all  the  Mussulmans  present  (except  the 
keeper  of  the  consecrated  place,  and  one  or  two  fakirs)  ac- 
knowledged that  the  offerings  made  to  the  Peer,  or  soul  of  the 
dead  man  whose  tomb  was  consecrated,  were  made  without 
any  command,  either  in  the  Koran  or  elsewhere.  The  person 
who  acted  as  priest  or  keeper  of  the  place,  was  so  ashamed 
when  we  told  him  that  all  the  offerings  were  made  to  his 
belly,  that  he  went  away  confounded  with  the  laughter  of  the 
people.  Their  inquisitiveness  and  numbers  increase  ;  and  one 
Hindu  appeared  more  than  ordinarily  anxious  to  know  what 
was  the  right  way.  I  wish  that  we  might  see  some  good  fruit 
of  our  labors ;  and  doubt  not  but  we  shall  soon  have  some 
reason  to  rejoice  in  the  salvation  of  God. 

'  27.  This  morning  went  to  Bahayut  to  procure  a  boat  to 
carry  us  over  the  lakes  to  the  place  wliere  we  hope  to  go. 
Through  the  delays  of  my  companion,  I  have  spent  another 
month  and  done  scarcely  any  thing,  except  that  I  have  added 
to  my  knowledge  of  the  language,  and  had  opportunity  of  see- 
ing much  more  of  the  genius  and  disposition  of  the  natives 
than  I  otherwise  could  have  known.  This  day  finished  the 
correction  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  which,  Mounshi  says, 
is  rendered  into  very  good  Bengali.    Just  as  we  had  finished 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  99 

it,  a  Pundit  and  another  man  from  Nuddea  came  to  see  me. 
I  sJiowed  it  to  them,  and  the  Pundit  seemed  much  pleased  with 
the  account  of  the  creation;  only  they  have  an  imaginary 
place  somewhere  beneath  the  earth,  and  he  thought  that 
should  have  been  mentioned  likewise.  I  said  that  the  earth 
was  a  planet,  and  that  heavens  and  earth  included  all  the  ma- 
terial creation.  There  are  several  minutiae  of  geography  and 
chronology  which  it  is  necessary  to  explain,  as  they  have  many 
superstitious  opinions  which  enter  deeply  into  their  system  of 
idolatry. 

'28.  This  morning  I  was  at  Calcutta.  Again  disappointed 
about  money.  Was  much  dejected  and  grieved.  Advised 
with  Mounshi,  who  is  my  trusty  friend,  but  could  find  no  set- 
tled plan.  In  the  evening  had  much  relief  in  reading  over  Mr. 
Fuller's  charge  to  us  at  Leicester.  The  aflfection  there  mani- 
fested almost  overcame  my  spirits,  for  I  have  not  been  accus- 
tomed to  sympathy  of  late.  O !  I  think  again,  I  am  not  only 
ready  to  be  offered,  so  as  to  suffer  any  thing,  but  if  1  be  of- 
fered, upon  the  service  and  sacrifice  of  the  faith,  I  joy  and  re- 
joice in  it.  O  what  a  portion  is  God,  and  what  a  shame  that  I 
am  not  always  satisfied  with  him ! 

'  29.  This  has  been  a  day  of  calmness,  but  the  calm  has 
been  rather  of  the  unprofitable  kind:  I  may  rather  call  it  a  day 
of  idleness,  than  any  thing  else.  Have  spent  part  of  it  in  my 
study  of  Bengali,  and  yet  no  communion  with  God,  which  only 
can  produce  comfortable  reflection  at  night.  Had  a  very 
pleasant  evening  in  studying  and  criticising  upon  the  second 
chapter  of  Genesis,  and  comparing  the  different  lections  and 
renderings.  There  is  an  obscurity  in  the  phrase  ,  created  and 
made,'  occasioned  by  departing  from  the  Hebrew,  which  is 
'  created  to  make ; '  that  is,  created  the  original  matter,  in  order 
that  he  might  modify  and  adorn  it,  in  the  manner  in  which  it 
now  is :  thus  most  render  it.  The  4th,  5th,  and  6th  verses  ap- 
pear to  be  designed  to  recapitulate  the  work  of  creation,  and 
to  show  that,  antecedent  to  the  existence  of  second  causes, 
God  produced  every  thing  by  his  own  power.  I  have  rendered 
it  like  the  English,  except  the  sixth  verse,  where  I  have  follow- 
ed Junius  Tremellius,  and  many  others,  in  continuing  the 
negation  of  second  causes,  and  have  rendered  it  thus,  '  Or 
vapor  ascending  from  the  earth,  which  might  water  the  face  of 


100  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

the  ground.'  The  Hebrew  will  bear  this  quite  as  well  as 
'But,  &c. ;'  and  it  seems  more  consonant  to  the  design  of  the 
narration. 

'  30.  The  blessings  of  the  gospel  are  far  greater  than  we 
can  think,  unless  we  discourse  with  those  who  never  had  them. 
This  evening  I  had  a  conversation  with  the  Mounshi  about  his 
first  opinions  concerning  God  ;  but  his  ideas  of  angels  were 
much  more  consistent  than  those  of  our  artists.  Seeing  a 
picture  in  which  an  angel  was  represented,  he  made  this 
inquiry:  'Sir,  are  angels  women,  or  birds?  I  see  they  have 
got  feathers,  therefore  they  must  be  birds ;  and  then  I  can  see 
them,  and  catch  them.  Now  we  think  that  they  are  great 
powers  which  can  go  any  where  in  an  instant,  without  wings,  or 
any  such  helps.'  These  simple  inquiries  were  put  to  Mr. 
Udney,  as  soon  as  he  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  T.  He  is 
now  much  hurt  at  seeing  pretended  pictures  of  God,  or  the 
Holy  Spirit  with  wings  like  a  dove,  and  many  of  those  repre- 
sentations in  cuts  with  the  Bible  are  to  him,  and  others  who 
are  still  heathens,  a  very  great  stumbling-block. 

'  Feb.  1.  Spent  to-day  in  preparations  for  ova-  departure  on 
Monday  to  the  intended  place  of  our  residence.  Was  veiy 
weary,  having  walked  in  the  sun  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  miles ; 
yet  had  the  satisfaction  of  discoursing  with  some  money- 
changers at  Calcutta,  who  could  speak  English,  about  the  im- 
portance and  absolute  necessity  of  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  One  of  them  was  a  very  crafty  man,  and  tried  much 
to  entangle  me  with  hard  questions  ;  but  at  last,  finding  him- 
self entangled,  he  desisted,  and  went  to  his  old  occupation  of 
money-changing  again.  If  once  God  would  by  his  Spirit 
convince  them  of  sin,  a  Savior  would  be  a  blessing  indeed  to 
them :  but  human  nature  is  the  same  all  the  world  over,  and 
all  conviction  fails,  except  it  is  produced  by  the  effectual  work- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

'4.  Proceeded  on  our  journey  through  salt  rivers  and  a 
large  lake.  In  the  afternoon  saw  an  offering  made  to  the  god 
of  learning,  viz.,  of  writing  and  reading.  The  idol  was  placed 
under  a  shed,  and  all  around  her  (for  I  believe  it  is  a  female) 
were  placed  large  dishes  full  of  rice,  fruits,  &c.,  which  the 
people  had  brought.  The  Brahmun  was  employed  in  laying 
the  whole  in  order,  after  w  hich  a  little  was  distributed  to  the 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  101 

attendants,  and  the  Brahmun  had  the  rest.  The  whole  was 
attended  with  horrid  music,  and  the  next  day  the  idol  was  to 
be  thrown  into  the  river.  I  felt  very  much  concerned  for  these 
poor  people,  but  could  not  speak  to  them. 

'  5.  There  not  being  water  enough  for  us  to  go  the  nearest 
way,  we  were  necessitated  to  go  through  the  Sunderbunds 
which  is  a  very  large,  impenetrable  forest,  only  intersected 
with  large  rivers,  by  which  our  boats  went.  These  forests  are 
some  hundreds  of  miles  in  extent,  and  entirely  uninhabited  by 
man  ;  they  swarm  with  tigers,  leopards,  rhinoceroses,  deer, 
buffaloes,  &c.  I  thought  I  heard  the  roar  of  a  tiger  in  the 
night,  but  am  uncertain.  Had  a  little  sweet  pleasure  in  medi- 
tation in  this  place  ;  but  no  one  dares  go  on  shore,  so  as  to 
venture  a  hundred  yards  from  the  boat. 

'6.  Arrived  early  in  the  morning  at  Deharta,  where  the 
company  have  a  bungalow.  The  person,  whose  name  is  Mr. 
Short,  who  resides  there  to  superintend  the  salt-works,  im- 
mediately sent  to  me,  and  invited  my  whole  family  to  stay 
there  till  our  own  house  is  finished.  Here,  therefore,  we  are 
at  present,  and  he,  though  an  utter  stranger  to  me,  and 
to  all  godliness,  insists  upon  supplying  all  our  wants  while 
here.' 

When  the  house  of  Mr.  Short  came  into  vieAv,  Mr,  Carey  and 
his  family  were  so  far  reduced  that  they  had  not  provisions 
remaining  sufficient  for  one  day.  This  testimony  was  borne 
by  Mrs.  Carey's  sister,  who  was  afterwards  united  in  mar- 
riage to  this  gentleman,  and  in  a  few  years  returned  to 
England. 

Mr.  Fuller  concludes  the  fragment  of  the  memoir  he  had 
commenced  of  his  friend,  given  in  the  first  chapter,  with  the 
following  pathetic  lines. 

'  Soon  after  Mr.  Carey's  arrival  in  India  he  was  reduced  to 
great  extremities ;  the  goods  which  they  had  taken  with  them 
for  their  immediate  support  were  disposed  of,  and  the  money, 
in  far  less  time  than  they  apprehended,  was  gone. 

'In  a  strange  land,  with  a  wife's  sister,  a  wife,  and  four 
children,  without  money,  without  friends,  and  without  employ- 
ment, he  must  needs  feel  himself  in  a  delicate  situation. 
Taking  a  boat,  he  went  with  his  family,  and  Ram  Boshoo  for 
his  guide,  up  the  country.  It  was  now,  as  Mr.  Ward  lately 
10* 


102  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

observed,  on  visiting  the  place,  that,  like  the  father  of  the 
faithful,  he  went  out,  not  knowing  whither  he  went.  As  they 
were  rowing  along  the  river,  about  forty  miles  east  of  Calcutta, 
at  a  place  called  Deharta,  they  espied  a  house  which  seemed 
to  be  English  built.  Mr.  Carey  asked  his  guide  if  he  knew 
the  owner;  he  answered  he  was  an  English  gentleman. 
'Then  (said  Mr.  C.)  I  will  call  upon  him.'  They  all  left  the 
boat,  and  walked  towards  the  house.  Some  of  the  servants, 
looking  out,  saw  them,  and  went  in  and  told  their  master  that 
an  English  gentleman,  two  ladies,  and  several  children  were 
walking  in  sight  of  the  house,  as  if  they  meant  to  come  in. 
The  owner,  who  proved  to  be  the  late  Charles  Short,  Esq., 
unmediately  came  forth  to  meet  them,  and  veiy  politely  in- 
vited them  in.  Mr.  Carey  frankly  told  him  his  object  and  his 
present  straits.  Mr.  S.  had  no  conceit  of  the  former,  for  he 
was  an  unbeliever,  but  told  him  he  was  at  perfect  liberty  to 
make  his  house  a  home  for  himself  and  family  till  he  should 
see  what  to  do ;  he  might  stop,  he  said,  for  half  a  year,  or 
longer  if  he  pleased !  Kindness  like  this,  and  in  such  circum- 
stances, must  have  greatly  affected  him ;  yet,  perceiving  in  his 
hospitable  benefactor  a  total  contempt  of  religion,  the  idea  of 
a  dependence  upon  him  could  not  but  be  unpleasant.' 

Mr.  Carey  continues  his  journal  as  follows : 

'8.  Went  this  morning  to  Hashnabad,  where  1  expected  to 
have  land.  I  had  the  choice  of  the  whole  country,  and  at  last 
pitched  upon  a  place  at  Collatullah,  which  is  a  fine  soil  and 
pleasant  situation,  and  nearly  opposite  to  the  place  where  I 
now  am,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  Several  villages  are 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  provisions  are  as  cheap  as  at  any 
place  in  Bengal.  The  river  Jubona,  which  i«  as  large  as  the 
Hoogly  at  Calcutta,  separates  us  from  Deharta. 

'  From  that  time  to  the  23d,  employed  in  the  same  work.  I 
meet  with  great  kindness  from  Mr.  Short,  with  whom  I  am ; 
but  he  is  a  stranger  to  religion,  and  I  cannot  therefore  enjoy 
that  freedom  which  I  could  at  home.  My  soul  is  barren,  and 
absorbed  in  temporal  things.     Lord,  enlarge  my  heart !' 


MEMOIR    OF    BR.  CAREY.  103 


SECTION    11. 

MR.  Thomas's  account  of  his  visit  to  malda — invitation 
or  himself  and  mr.  carey  to  remove  thither — MR.  Ca- 
rey's journal  continued ACCOUNT  OF  DEMONIACS JOUR- 
NEY TO  MALDA,  ARRIVAL,  &C. 

A  DISPENSATION  of  proviclence  now  occurs,  as  decisively 
favorable  to  Mr.  Carey's  desires  as  every  thing  heretofore  had 
been  adverse  and  thwarting.  As  in  securing  the  ship  and 
arranging  for  the  voyage  to  India,  so  in  dissipating  Mr.  C.'s 
present  gloom,  and  supplying  the  means  of  relief  and  future 
comfort  and  usefulness  to  him,  Mr.  Thomas  was  the  active 
agent.  George  Udney,  Esq.,  then  of  Malda,  was  a  religious 
friend,  well  known  to  Mr.  T.  during  his  former  residence  in 
Bengal,  and  liberally  contributed  to  his  support  whilst  ac- 
quiring the  language,  and  making  his  first  missionary  efforts ; 
but,  from  some  disrelish  of  his  constitutional  peculiarities,  was 
induced  to  withdraw  his  countenance.  This  gentleman  is 
now  overwhelmed  with  domestic  afiliction.  Mr.  Thomas, 
with  prompt,  ingenuous  kindness,  as  though  no  contrariety  of 
feeling  between  them  Imd  ever  arisen,  interposes  the  expres- 
sion of  his  sympathy :  this  is  acceptable  to  his  Christian 
friend.  Mr.  T.  then  goes  a  journey  of  two  hundred  miles  to 
offer  his  condolence  in  person :  mutual  greetings  and  floods 
of  tears  testify  their  sincere  and  fervent  affection,  and  the 
readiness  of  each  party  to  obliterate  all  that  was  painful  in  the 
recollections  of  their  former  connexion. 

Mr.  Udney  was  at  this  time  erecting  two  additional  indigo 
factories  in  the  same  district,  to  the  superintendence  of  which 
he  invites  Mr.  T.  and  his  desolate  and  all  but  heart-broken 
friend,  with  such  overtures  as  would  afford  competent  support 
to  their  respective  families,  and  leave  a  surplus  applicable  to 
the  furtherance  of  their  missionary  labors.  By  this  means, 
too,  Mr.  C.  became  introduced  to  associations,  both  European 
and  native,  favorable  to  his  ministerial  influence,  and  was  able 


104  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

to  commence  and  vigorously  pursue  studies  preliminary  and 
indispensable  to  those  final  and  momentous  labors,  a  retrospect 
of  Avhich  justified  his  declaration  upon  his  dying  bed :  'I  have 
not  a  single  wish  ungratified.'  Mr.  Thomas's  statement  shall 
introduce  the  reader  to  the  knowledge  of  this  eventful  crisis 
in  Mr.  Carey's  life  and  plans. 

Mr.  Thomas  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'Ever  since  we  have  been  here  we  have  found  it  impossible 
to.  keep  within  our  income,  though  we  all  lived  in  one  house 
to  save  rent,  and  kept  but  one  table.  In  the  midst  of  our  con- 
trivances to  live,  one  of  my  creditor's  agents  came  upon  me 
with  a  bond  in  hand,  who  seemed  not  violent,  though  hardly 
satisfied.  I  took  a  house  at  Calcutta,  thinking  my  attention  to 
some  business  might  relieve  us,  and  recover  my  circumstances. 
As  to  Mr.  Udney,  I  had  entertained  hopes  of  his  helping  us  in 
any  emergent  distress ;  but  as  he  had  declined  the  support  of 
the  mission,  I  never  applied  to  him  for  help,  though  I  find 
since,  I  should  have  been  sure  to  have  had  it.  And  now  being 
just  got  into  my  new  house,  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Ud- 
ney, which  has  given  a  wonderful  turn  in  its  issue  to  all  our 
aflfairs  and  situation,  especially  with  respect  to  the  mission. 
This  letter  was  in  answer  to  a  consoling  epistle  I  had  sent  to 
him  on  the  sickness  of  his  mother,  which  was  occasioned  by 
the  very  afifecting  loss  of  her  son,  who  was  drowned  with  his 
wife,  by  their  boat  oversetting  as  they  were  crossing  Calcutta 
river.  In  this  letter  I  had  said  that,  on  hearing  she  was  sick, 
I  nearly  set  ofi"  to  Malda,  but  business  prevented.  Mr.  Udney 
replied,  with  a  very  pressing  and  aflfectionate  invitation,  with 
proposals  to  accommodate  me  at  his  expense,  &c.  I  went : 
we  met,  with  two  hearts  overflowing  with  affectionate  remem- 
brances of  each  other,  and  recollection  of  the  sad  occasion  of 
our  meeting  now.  Many  tears  fell,  and  many  steps  were 
taken,  before  one  word  was  uttered  on  either  side.  We  went 
and  mingled  our  tears  with  his  dear  mother,  who  lay  smarting 
under  the  afflicting  hand  of  God,  in  body  and  mind,  carrying 
about  with  her  deep  marks  of  heart-breaking  grief  The 
same  morning  I  directed  her  to  get  a  word  from  Christ,  by 
preaching  from  Cant,  viii,  13.    I  fatigued  her  body  Avith  long 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  105 

walks,  hoping  thereby  to  make  the  mind  less  capable  of  grief; 
and  the  Lord  blessed,  &c.' 

Mr.  Carey's  Journal. 

'  March  1.  After  having  been  employed  in  building  me  a 
house,  and  almost  finished  it,  I  received  an  invitation  this  day 
to  go  up  to  Malda,  to  superintend  an  indigo  manufactory. 
This  appearing  to  be  a  remarkable  opening  in  divine  provi- 
dence, for  our  comfortable  support,  I  accepted  it ;  so  that  we 
are  still  unsettled :  but  I  only  wait  to  receive  another  letter, 
in  order  to  set  off  this  long  journey  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  with  all  my  family. 

'2 — 4.  In  this  state  of  uncertainty,  nothing  but  suspense 
and  vacancy  of  mind  is  experienced;  though  I  have  the  great 
pleasure  of  hoping  that  the  mission  may  be  abundantly  for- 
warded by  having  a  number  of  the  natives  under  my  imme- 
diate inspection,  and  at  the  same  time,  my  family  be  well 
provided  for.  Though  I  have  no  doubt  respecting  provision, 
even  here,  yet,  too  great  a  part  of  my  time  must  have  been 
necessarily  employed  in  managing  my  little  farm  with  my  own 
hands.  I  shall  likewise  be  joined  with  my  colleague  again, 
and  we  shall  unitedly  engage  in  our  work.  O  that  my  soul 
were  not  so  barren  and  unfruitful  in  the  work  and  ways  of 
God! 

'  5.  Still  I  mourn  my  barrenness,  and  the  foolish  wander- 
ings of  my  mind.  Surely  I  shall  never  be  of  any  use  among 
the  heathen,  I  feel  so  very  little  of  the  life  of  godliness  in  my 
own  soul.  It  seems  as  if  all  the  sweetness  that  I  have  formerly 
felt  was  gone ;  neither  am  I  distressed,  but  a  guilty  calm  is 
spread  over  my  soul,  and  I  seem  to  spend  all  my  time,  and 
make  no  progress  towards  the  desired  port,  either  in  a  public 
or  private  way.  I  am  full  of  necessities,  yet  am  not  distressed  ; 
I  want  wisdom  to  know  how  to  direct  all  my  concerns,  and 
fortitude  and  affectionate  concern  for  the  glory  of  God,  and 
faith  and  holiness  in  all  its  branches :  then  my  soul  would  be 
like  a  v/ell-watered  garden,  but  now  it  is  a  mere  jungle. 

'  6.  This  day  I  feel  much  remains  of  my  past  carelessness 
and  absorption  in  the  affairs  of  the  world,  though  somewhat 
more  of  an  inclination  to  the  things  of  God  than  for  some 


106  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

time  back.  I  hope  my  soul,  like  a  pendulum,  though  it  swings 
to  and  fro  about  the  necessary  things  of  the  world,  yet  can 
rest  nowhere  but  in  its  centre,  God;  and  I  trust  I  feel  that 
there  is  an  inclination  to  rest  there.  O  when  shall  I  serve  God 
uninterruptedly,  and  pursue  every  thing  in  a  subserviency  to 
his  divme  will,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  commune  with 
him  in  every  thing  that  I  do. 

'  7.  Li  the  morning,  had  a  very  miserable,  unhappy  time 
for  some  hours.  O  what  a  body  of  death  do  I  carry  about! 
How  little  can  I  bear !  How  little  patience  have  I  under  the 
contradictions  I  meet  with  ;  and  the  afflictions  I  meet,  how 
little  are  they  sanctified!  Instead  of  growing  in  grace,  I 
almost  conclude  myself  to  be  destitute  of  the  grace  of  God  at 
all.  How  can  a  wretch  like  me  ever  expect  to  be  of  use  to 
the  heathen,  when  I  am  so  carnal  myself! 

'I  see  much  now  of  the  value  of  Christian  society.  When 
I  had  that  advantage,  I  have  often  felt  that  visiting  a  friend  was 
like  throwing  oil  upon  the  fire ;  or,  like  as  iron  sharpeneth 
iron,  so  have  the  countenances  of  my  friends  stirred  me  up  to 
a  I  oly  activity  and  diligence  in  the  things  of  God.  Towards 
evening,  however,  had  some  more  enjoyment,  and  felt  a  little 
dr'  wn  forth  in  prayer  to  God. 

9.  This  has  been  one  of  the  most  pleasant  Sabbaths  that  I 
he  e  ever  enjoyed  smce  I  have  been  m  this  country.  Spent 
mo  ^t  of  the  day  in  family  exercises.  Particularly,  had  much 
enjoyment  in  reading  Edwards's  sermon  upon  the  manner  in 
which  the  salvation  of  the  soul  is  to  be  sought.  Through  the 
whole  day  enjoyed  pleasure  and  profit. 

'  10.  Felt  some  di*awings  of  soul  after  God,  and  prayer  has 
especially  been  pleasant.  Tiie  study  of  a  language,  though  a 
dull  work,  yet  is  productive  of  pleasure  to  me,  because  it  is 
my  business,  and  necessary  to  my  preaching  in  any  useful 
manner.  The  soul  and  spirit  of  preaching  must  be  wanting, 
unless  one  has  some  command  of  language. 

*  11.  I  begin  to  find  my  soul  more  at  home.  The  multi- 
plicity of  other  things  which  I  have  been  forced  to  attend  to, 
had  drawn  my  mind  from  God,  and  employed  it  too  much 
upon  the  world ;  but  now  I  begin  to  feel  again,  that  to  live 
after  the  flesh,  or  to  myself,  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  spirit  of 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  107 

the  gospel,  and  that  no  happiness  or  usefulness  is  to  be  ex- 
pected unless  we  live  near  to  God. 

'  12.  I  am  very  defective  in  all  duties,  both  with  respect  to 
the  matter  and  manner  of  them.  In  prayer  I  wander,  and  am 
formal,  not  having  that  lively  sense  of  my  wants  which  is 
necessary  to  wrestling  with  God.  I  ask  for  blessings,  yet 
seem  almost  contented  to  go  without  obtaining  them.  I  soon 
tire ;  devotion  languishes ;  and  I  do  not  walk  with  God,  con- 
sidering myself  always  as  in  his  sight.  O  what  a  mercy  it  is  to 
live  near  to  him,  and  to  realize  his  perfections  and  relations  to 
us  constantly. 

'13.  A  day  of  sacred  pleasure.  The  conversion  of  the 
heathen,  and  the  setting  up  of  Clii'ist's  kingdom,  has  been  a 
pleasant  theme  of  contemplation. 

'  15.  In  this  wilderness,  O  how  my  soul  wanders !  I  thirst, 
but  find  nothing  to  drink.  O  Lord,  I  beseech  thee,  deliver  my 
soul! 

'  16.  Such  another  Sabbath  I  hope  I  shall  never  pass.  What 
a  hell  it  would  be  to  be  always  with  those  who  fear  not  God, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  benevolent  man  with  whom  I  reside. 
This  is  one  of  the  Bengal  holidays,  and  in  the  afternoon  a 
number  of  people,  smeared  over  their  heads  with  red  powc*  r, 
who  had  been  to  celebrate  the  Obitar,  or  incarnation*  f 
Krishnu,  returned,  and  danced  and  played  their  idolatr  us 
tricks  before  the  door.  O  how  much  more  zealous  are  id''»la- 
ters  than  Christians !  I  suppose  that  not  less  than  ten  thousand 
people  met  at  the  temple  of  Krishnu,  many  of  whom  'had 
travelled  twenty  or  thirty  miles  to  worship.  And  this  is  the 
case  all  over  the  country ;  and  upon  one  of  these  holidays 
many  of  the  rich  spend  perhaps  a  lack,  or  100,000  rupees ;  and 
they  would  rather  undergo  the  greatest  distress,  than  labor 
upon  these  days.  Though  the  most  timid  people  on  the  earth 
at  other  times,  yet  now  they  are  enthusiastic,  intrepid  and 
fearless. 

'  20.  A  most  unhappy  day ;  yet  much  affected  with  some 
instances  of  generosity  in  my  Mounshi,  such  as  I  am  sure 
would  have  done  honor  to  the  most  eminent  Christian  in  the 
world. 

'21.  The  conversion  of  the  heathen  is  the  object  which 
above  all  others  I  wish  to  pursue ;  yet  a  long  course  of  un- 


108  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

foreseen  things,  and  changing  circumstances,  have  hitherto 
prevented  my  making  that  active  effort  which  I  wish.  I  how- 
ever am  daily  employed  in  learning  the  language,  and  as 
Mounshi  can  understand  a  considerable  of  English,  we  are 
going  over  Mr.  Thomas's  translation  of  Genesis.  I  find  this 
both  a  pleasing  and  profitable  employment,  and  now  begin  to 
see  that  the  Bengali  is  a  language  which  is  very  copious,  and 
abounds  with  beauties.  If  my  situation  at  Malda  should  be 
tolerable,  I  most  certainly  will  publish  the  Bible  in  numbers. 

'  22.  Still  in  suspense ;  waiting  in  daily  expectation  of  a 
letter  from  Malda,  to  direct  how  we  may  go  up.  Have  much 
pleasure  oftentimes  in  conversation  with  Mounshi.  In  this 
country  there  is,  he  informs  me,  something  similar  to  the 
scriptural  demoniacs ;  they  call  the  spirits  of  bad  men  depart- 
ed, Bhoot,  and  say  that  oftentimes  when  a  woman  walks  near 
the  woods,  the  Bhoot  comes  from  some  tree  and  possesses  her, 
upon  which  she  becomes  in  a  manner  insane.  A  man  of 
learning  is  employed  to  expel  the  demon,  which  is  performed 
in  the  following  manner :  He  repeats  by  heart  the  substance 
of  some  book,  and  then  commands  the  Bhoot  to  go  out ;  upon 
his  refusing,  he  threatens  to  flog  him  out,  and  then  draws  with 
his  finger  the  figure  of  a  woman  upon  the  earth,  which  he 
beats  most  violently,  till  at  last  the  Bhoot  begins  to  capitulate, 
and  declares  that  he  will  go,  and  directs  the  learned  man  to 
take  some  very  heavy  weight,  as  a  large  jar  of  water,  or  the 
like,  which  the  woman  is  commanded  to  lift  with  her  teeth: 
after  much  labor  she  performs  this  task,  and  immediately 
swoons ;  then  the  learned  person,  by  command  of  the  Bhoot, 
calls  her  three  or  four  times,  and  she  revives ;  but  if  he  ap- 
points ten  or  twelve  times,  she  dies.  He  also  gives  as  a  sign, 
that  when  he  goes  out,  such  a  tree,  or  some  branches  thereof, 
shall  fall,  and  the  woman  immediately  recovers.  They  say 
that  the  Bhoot  causes  the  woman  to  pronounce  his  words  in  a 
whining  tone..  What  this  singular  thing  may  be,  I  cannot  teU. 
Moimshi  says  that  he  has  often  seen  it,  and  I  am  determined 
to  investigate  it;  if  true,  it  is,  like  Indian  powowing,  a  striking 
proof  of  the  power  which  the  devil  exercises  even  over  the 
bodies  of  people  in  countries  wholly  under  his  dominion,  and 
must  be  a  complete  answer  to  all  the  objections  which  Socini- 
ans  or  others  make  to  the  Scripture  account  of  demoniacs. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CARET.  109 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  ministers  and  commentators  should 
hesitate  to  receive  and  expound  the  evangehcal  statements 
upon  this  awful  subject  literally,  as  they  find  them.  Why  can- 
not the  divine  writers  be  allowed  to  mean  what  they  say,  and 
to  describe  things  as  actually  they  were,  and  to  call  things  by 
their  proper  names  ?  Why  should  we  seek  to  evaporate  the 
force  of  their  narration  of  some  of  the  most  important  inter- 
positions of  the  power  which  incarnate  Deity  put  forth  to 
verify  the  truth  and  illustrate  the  merciful  purposes  of  his 
mission,  by  affirming  that  they  so  write  that  they  may  assimi- 
late their  phraseology  to  the  known  prejudices  and  unphilo- 
sophical  views  and  diction  of  the  Jewish  nation  ?  All  serious 
Christians  admit  an  adverse  spiritual  agency,  seductive  or  terri- 
fying, as  the  infernal  prince  is  permitted  to  put  it  forth.  Hence 
we  are  taught  to  pray  for  deliverance  from  the  evil  one ;  to 
'resist  him  steadfast  in  the  faith;'  to  'be  sober,  to  be  vigilant, 
for  your  adversary  the  devil  goeth  about  as  a  roaring  lion, 
seeking  whom  he  may  devour.'  Most  devout  persons  accept 
these  passages  as  they  find  them,  without  affecting  to  explain 
away  or  abate  their  force,  and  without  regard  to  the  difficulty 
they  may  feel,  of  making  it  square  with  their  ideas  of  the 
spontaneity  of  human  actions  and  their  consequent  moral  tur- 
pitude. Why,  then,  should  we  esteem  it  more  hard  of  belief 
that  the  great  adversary,  or  some  part  of  the  apostate  agency 
over  which  he  presides,  should  mischievously  assail  our  intel- 
lectual nature,  and  disturb  the  connection  between  it  and  that 
part  of  our  animal  economy  through  the  medium  of  which  it 
acts,  than  that  he  should  criminally  operate  to  our  spiritual 
detriment?  In  both  cases,  Satan  is  under  the  control  of  Om- 
nipotence ;  and  beyond  this  a  pious  mind  can  desire  no 
stronger  guarantee  for  its  defence  and  comfort. 

It  has  indeed  sometimes  been  assumed,  that  the  possessions 
referred  to  in  the  Gospels,  took  place  by  a  special  providence, 
during  the  incarnation  and  ministry  of  our  Lord,  to  supply  oc- 
casions for  the  more  splendid  demonstrations  of  his  power — 
a  weak  and  hazardous  hypothesis,  and  calculated  to  create 
far  more  scepticism  than  ever  it  can  remove.  In  what  a  circle 
of  absurdity  would  it  involve  us,  to  suppose  one  miracle,  or 
one  series  of  miracles,  should  be  created,  to  offer  an  occasion 
for  the  display  of  a  second !  We  should  act  quite  as  reasona- 
11 


110  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

bly,  and  confer  as  much  honor  upon  the  evangelical  testimony, 
if  we  were  to  believe  and  affirm,  that  all  the  sick,  and  all  the 
blind,  and  all  the  deaf,  the  maimed,  the  leprous,  and  the  dead, 
were  brought  into  their  respective  conditions,  that  the  com- 
passion and  power  of  the  Savior  should  be  evinced  in  their 
recovery. 

Besides,  these  possessions  are  never  referred  to  by  our 
Lord  or  his  apostles,  neither  at  any  time  by  their  bitterest  ad- 
versaries, as  new  creations ;  but  always  as  existing,  and  well 
known  and  acknowledged  calamities.  '  If  I  by  Beelzebub  cast 
out  devils,  by  whom  do  your  sons  cast  them  out  ?  therefore 
they  shall  be  your  judges.'  The  Hindus  entirely  agree  with 
the  Jews  in  their  ideas  of  this  mysterious  and  affecting  sub- 
ject, and  their  language  precisely  accords  with  that  used  by 
the  divine  historians.  If  a  sufferer  of  this  class  attract  the  at- 
tention of  an  European,  and  he  inquire  of  a  native  as  to  his 
malady,  the  reply  will  be,  'He  is  possessed;  a  spirit  hath 
gotten  or  seized  him.' 

*23.  Lord's  day.  Enjoyed  much  happiness  in  reading  to 
and  instructing  my  family.  Had  much  pleasure,  and  a  revival 
of  ancient  friendship  in  my  soul,  by  reading  dear  Mr.  Ryland's 
Circular  Letter  on  Zeal ;  but  sorely  feel  the  loss  of  those  pub- 
lic opportunities  which  I  enjoyed  in  England.  Hope,  however, 
to  have  something  more  to  do  for  God  at  Malda. 

*  24.  Devoted  in  some  measure  to  God ;  but  O  how  little  is 
my  will  swallowed  up  in  his !  Long  delay  and  unsettledness 
have  filled  me  with  discouragement,  and  drank  up  my  spirit ; 
but  I  feel  some  rising  composure  in  reflecting,  that  all  my 
times  are  in  the  hand  of  God.  This  evening  I  was  enabled  to 
contend  for  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  with  my  host.  O  that 
God  would  requite  his  kindness  to  us  by  converting  his  soul ! 

'  25 — 28.  Days  spent  in  a  mixture  of  pleasure  and  pain,  and 
every  day  in  expectation  of  being  removed  from  hence.  I  am 
loaded  with  civility  from  the  kind  Mr.  Short,  but  I  am  ashamed  to 
receive  the  tokens  of  his  friendship :  was  it  not  that  my  wife 
is  so  ill  as  to  be  unable  to  sustain  the  fatigue  of  an  incommo- 
dious voyage  to  Malda,  I  would  set  out  at  any  rate  ;  but  as  it 
is,  I  cannot  till  Mr.  Thomas  sends  me  a  letter.  I  rejoice  to 
find  and  feel  that  all  my  times  are  in  the  hand  of  God.  O 
what  must  those  persons  undergo  in  affliction,  if  their  con- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  Ill 

sciences  are  at  all  awake,  who  have  no  sense  of  the  infinite 
wisdom  and  goodness  which  order  all  things  here  below !  but 
eyeing  a  covenant  God,  I  can  say,  with  exultation,  'Though  the 
fig-tree  should  not  blossom,  and  there  be  no  fruit  in  the  vine; 
tliough  the  labor  of  the  olive  should  fail,  and  the  herds  be  cut 
off  from  the  stall ;  yet  will  I  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  I  will  joy  in 
the  God  of  my  salvation.' 

'29.  Through  mistake  spent  this  day  as  the  Sabbath.  I 
have,  however,  abundant  reason  to  be  thankful  for  the  mis- 
take ;  it  has  been  a  time  of  refreshing  indeed  to  me.  O  what 
is  there  in  all  this  world  worth  living  for,  but  the  presence  and 
service  of  God  !  I  feel  a  burning  desire  that  all  the  world 
may  know  this  God  and  serve  him.  O  how  long  will  it  be  till 
I  shall  know  so  much  of  the  language  of  the  country  as  to 
preach  Christ  crucified  to  them !  But,  bless  God,  I  make  some 
progress. 

'31.  A  day  of  hard  labor  at  Bengali,  and  I  trust  some  en- 
joyment in  divine  things.  This  evening  the  long  expected 
letter  from  Malda  arrived,  at  which  my  heart  was  made  glad : 
the  prospect  of  reunion  with  my  colleague,  and  of  our  being 
so  provided  for  as  to  carry  on  the  work  of  printing  the  Bible, 
gladdened  my  heart.  I  am  resolved  to  write  to  the  Society  that 
my  circumstances  are  such,  that  I  do  not  need  future  help 
from  them,  and  to  devote  a  sum  monthly  for  the  printing  of 
the  Bengali  Bible. 

'April  1,  2,  3.  These  three  days  have  not  at  all  been 
favorable  to  the  growth  of  grace.  The  company  of  four  of 
the  first  gentlemen  in  the  settlement,  though  civil,  genteel,  and 
kind,  is  yet  unfriendly  to  the  work  of  God  within.  However, 
this  good  end  is  answered, — I  become  more  known,  and  have 
assurances  that  even  the  officers  of  government  will  help  me 
in  the  work  which  I  am  engaged  in ;  though  the  cause,  I  am 
well  assured,  will  thrive  without  any  of  their  help.  However, 
if  offered,  I  think  it  would  be  criminal  to  reject  any  thing  that 
may  tend  to  the  advancement  of  the  work,  and  the  comfort  of 
my  family.  Nothing  yields  me  more  pleasure  than  the  pros- 
pect of  Mr.  Thomas  and  I  being  reunited  in  the  work ;  and 
particularly  as  he  has,  of  his  own  accord,  written  to  me  that 
he  knows  his  conduct  at  Calcutta  was  wrong,  and  he  was 


Il2  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

desperately  drinking  into  the  spirit  of  the  world,  to  the 
destruction  of  godliness. 

'  5.  How  wicked  is  the  heart  of  man  ;  and  what  a  curse 
must  it  be  to  be  wholly  under  its  wicked  dominion !  Then  all 
mercies  are  repelled,  all  privileges  neglected,  and  all  God's 
authority  slighted.  This  awful  spirit  so  prevails  in  me,  that  I 
can  scarcely  tell  whether  I  have  the  grace  of  God  or  not.  If 
I  have  it,  how  very  low  is  the  degree  !  And  if  not,  then  how 
shall  I  teach  others!  I  can  scarcely  determine;  but  be  it  as  it 
may,  I  am  resolved  to  spend  and  be  spent  in  the  work  of  my 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

'C.  Had  some  sweetness  to-day,  especially  in  reading  Ed- 
wards's sermon,  'The  Most  High  a  prayer-hearing  God.' 
What  a  spirit  of  genuine  piety  flows  through  all  that  great 
man's  Avorks!  I  hope  I  have  caught  a  little  fresh  fire  to-day; 
but  how  desirable  and  important  is  it  that  God  should  con- 
stantly fan  the  heavenly  flame  !  I  need  abundance  of  grace, 
in  order  to  communicate  divine  things  to  others ;  but  to  my 
comfort,  Christ  has  said,  '  He  that  believeth  on  me,  out  of  his 
belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  waters ;'  no  doubt  meaning, 
that  faith  is  a  communicative  principle,  and  that  true  believers 
will  as  naturally  speak  of  the  things  of  God,  as  a  fountain 
casts  forth  streams  of  water.  I  wish  I  could  speak  so  as  to  be 
understood :  I  can  say  a  little,  but  not  sufficient  to  answer  the 
objections  brought  against  the  gospel. 

'  7.  I  have  enjoyed  some  pleasure  in  God  to-day,  and  spent 
the  evening  in  a  long  dispute  with  my  friendly  host.  I  was 
enabled,  through  mercy,  to  be  faithful,  and  speak  of  the  neces- 
sity of  faith  in  Christ  in  order  to  salvation.  This  was  called 
illiberal  and  uncharitable,  as  it  excluded  unbelievers,  and  event- 
ually adjudged  the  heathens  to  eternal  misery.  I  argued  that 
I  was  no  more  uncharitable  than  the  Bible  ;  and  that  if  that 
was  the  case,  God  would  appear  gloriously  just.  But  my 
friend  is  a  deist,  though  not  hardy  enough  to  avow  it.  I  can 
see  that  he  is  glad  of  every  thing  that  he  can  think  of  to  in- 
validate the  Bible.  I  feel  a  pleasure  in  being  valiant  for  the 
truth,  and  much  wish  that  God  would  convert  his  soul.  He  is 
indeed  a  kind  and  hospitable  man. 

'8.     A  day  of  business,  hurry,  sorrow,  and  dejection. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  113 

seem  cast  out  of  the  Christian  world,  and  unable  yet  to  speak 
to  the  heathen  to  any  advantage ;  and  daily  disappointment 
discourages  my  heart.  I  not  only  have  no  friend  to  stir  me 
up,  or  encourage  me  in  the  things  of  God,  but  every  discour- 
agement, arising  from  my  distance  from  Mr.  Thomas,  the 
infidelity  of  Europeans,  w^ho  all  say  that  the  conversion  of  the 
natives  is  impossible,  and  the  stupid  superstition  of  the  natives 
themselves.  In  England,  I  should  not  be  discouraged  by 
what  infidels  say;  but  here,  I  have  not  the  blessing  of  a  Chris- 
tian friend  to  sympathize  with  me,  nor  the  ability  to  make  the 
trial  of  preaching  the  gospel.  All  my  hope  is  in  and  all  my 
comfort  arises  from,  God ;  without  his  power,  no  European 
could  possibly  be  converted,  and  his  power  can  convert  any 
Indian :  and  when  I  reflect  that  he  has  stirred  me  up  to  the 
work,  and  wrought  wonders  to  prepare  the  way,  I  can  hope  in 
his  promises,  and  am  encouraged  and  strengthened. 

'  13.  Lord's  day.  This  has  been  a  day  of  real  enjoyment 
to  my  soul,  and  of  true  profit.  I  think  that  if  it  were  not  for 
some  opportunities  of  this  nature,  the  wheels  of  religion 
would  be  entirely  clogged ;  but  these  seasons  of  refreshing  oil 
them  anew,  and  I  move  on  again. 

'  14.  Still  a  time  of  enjoyment  of  God.  I  feel  that  it  is 
good  to  commit  my  soul,  my  body,  and  my  all,  into  the  hands 
of  God.  Then  the  world  appears  little,  the  promises  great, 
and  God  an  all-sufficient  portion. 

'15.  Bless  God,  that  his  presence  is  not  departed.  This 
evening,  during  the  approach  of  a  violent  storm  of  thunder,  I 
walked  alone,  and  had  sweet  converse  with  God  in  prayer. 
O !  I  longed  to  have  all  my  fetters  knocked  oflf,  that  I  might 
glorify  God  without  any  hindrance,  either  natural  or  moral. 

'  18.  This  day  was  tumultuous  in  its  beginning,  but  was 
afterwards  more  calm.  Yet  a  burden  of  guilt  is  not  easily 
removed :  nothing  short  of  infinite  power,  and  infinite  good- 
ness, can  remove  such  a  load  as  mine.  O  that  I  had  but  a 
smiling  God,  or  an  earthly  friend  to  whom  I  could  unbosom 
my  soul !  But  my  friend  is  at  a  great  distance,  and  God 
frowns  upon  my  soul.  O  may  his  countenance  be  lifted  upon 
me  again. 

'19.  O  how  glorious  are  the  ways  of  God!  'My  soul 
longeth  and  fainteth  for  God,  for  the  living  God,  to  see  his 
IJ* 


114  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

glory  and  beauty  as  I  have  seen  them  m  the  sanctuary.'  When 
I  first  left  England,  my  hope  of  the  conversion  of  the  heathen 
was  very  strong ;  but,  among  so  many  obstacles,  it  w^ould  en- 
tirely die  away,  unless  upheld  by  God.  Nothing  to  exercise 
it,  but  plenty  to  obstruct  it,  for  now  a  year  and  nineteen  days, 
which  is  the  space  since  I  left  my  dear  charge  at  Leicester. 
Since  that  I  have  had  hurrying  up  and  down ;  a  five  months' 
imprisonment  w^ith  carnal  men  on  board  the  ship ;  five  more 
learning  the  language ;  my  Mounshi  not  understanding  Eng- 
lish sufficiently  to  interpret  my  preaching;  my  colleague 
separated  from  me ;  long  delays,  and  few  opportunities  for 
social  worship ;  no  woods  to  retire  to,  like  Brainerd,  for  fear 
of  tigers  (no  less  than  twenty  men  in  the  department  of  De- 
harta,  where  I  am,  have  been  carried  away  by  them  this  sea- 
son from  the  salt-works);  no  earthly  thing  to  depend  upon,  or 
earthly  comfort,  except  food  and  raiment.  Well ;  I  have  God, 
and  his  word  is  sure ;  and  though  the  superstitions  of  the 
heathen  were  a  million  times  worse  than  they  are,  if  I  were 
deserted  by  all,  and  persecuted  by  all,  yet  my  hope,  fixed  on 
that  sure  word,  will  rise  superior  to  all  obstructions,  and 
triumph  over  all  trials.  God's  cause  will  triumph,  and  I  shall 
come  out  of  all  trials  as  gold  purified  by  fire.  I  was  much 
humbled  to-day  by  reading  Brainerd.  O  what  a  disparity 
betwixt  me  and  him !  He  always  constant,  I  as  inconstant  as 
the  wind ! 

'22.  Bless  God  for  a  continuance  of  the  happy  frame  of 
yesterday.  I  think  the  hope  of  soon  acquiring  the  language 
puts  fresh  life  into  my  soul ;  for  a  long  time  my  mouth  has 
been  shut,  and  my  days  have  been  beclouded  with  heaviness  ; 
but  now  I  begin  to  be  something  like  a  traveller  who  has 
been  almost  beaten  out  in  a  violent  storm,  and  who,  with  all 
his  clothes  about  him  dripping  wet,  sees  the  sky  begin  to  clear : 
so  I,  with  only  the  prospect  of  a  more  pleasant  season  at  hand, 
scarcely  feel  the  sorrows  of  the  present. 

'23.  With  all  the  cares  of  life,  and  all  its  sorrows,  yet  I  find 
that  a  life  of  communion  with  God  is  sufficient  to  yield  con- 
solation in  the  midst  of  all,  and  even  to  produce  a  holy  joy  in 
the  soul,  which  shall  make  it  to  triumph  over  all  affliction.  I 
have  never  yet  repented  of  any  sacrifice  that  I  have  made  for 
the  gospel,  but  find  that  consolation  of  mind  which  can  come 
from  God  alone. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  115 

*24.  Still  a  continuance  of  the  same  tranquil  state  of  mind. 
Outwardly  the  sky  lowers,  but  within  I  feel  '  the  soul's  calm 
sunshine,  and  the  heart-felt  joy.'  Hope  more  strongly  operates, 
as  the  time  of  my  being  able  to  speak  for  Christ  approaches; 
and  I  feel  like  a  long  confined  prisoner  whose  chains  are 
knocked  off  in  order  to  his  liberation. 

'25.  Blessed  be  God  for  a  continuance  of  his  mercy  to  me 
this  day.  I  feel  a  calm,  serious  frame  of  heart ;  but  yet  have 
cause  to  mourn  the  want  of  a  contemplative  mind.  Things 
come  and  go,  and  seem  to  make  but  very  little  impression  upon 
my  heart.  O  what  need  I  have  of  a  spirit  of  importunate 
intercession  with  God !  I  pray  for  divine  blessings,  yet  rest 
too  well  contented  without  obtaining  them. 

'27.  Some  lowering  circumstances  served  to  distress  me 
this  morning,  and  threatened  to  spoil  all  the  comfort  of  the 
whole  day ;  but,  blessed  be  God,  I  found  him  a  sufficient 
friend,  and  a  sufficient  portion.  Had  much  pleasure  and 
affection  in  instructing  my  family,  and  have  seen  some  such 
impressions  upon  my  two  eldest  children  as  are  matter  of  great 
encouragement  to  me.  O  that  they  may  be  followed  up  by 
God  to  good  purpose  ! 

'29.  This  has  been  a  time  of  abundant  mercy  to  me  in  every 
respect.  My  soul  has  been  strengthened  and  enlightened ;  I 
only  want  a  heart  endued  with  gratitude  and  love.  I  want  to 
be  filled  with  a  sense  of  the  mercy  of  God,  and  to  feel  my  heart 
warmed  with  a  hearty  regard  to  him  and  all  his  ways.  I  find 
great  reason  to  fear  lest  I  should  contract  an  unfeeling,  carnal 
form  of  godliness,  without  the  power. 

'  30.  I  have  reason  to  bless  God  for  all  the  benefits  with 
which  he  loads  me.  O  how  apt  we  are  to  overlook  all  his 
goodness  and  all  his  beauty,  and  to  dwell  on  those  parts  of  our 
experience  which  are  dreary  and  discouraging!  But  I  feel 
that  the  light  afflictions  and  momentary  sorrows  which  I 
endure,  diminish  in  their  bulk  and  lose  their  nature,  while  we 
look  not  at  temporal  but  at  eternal  things.  While  concerned 
about  temporal  things,  I  see  all  temporal  troubles  magnify 
themselves ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  when  I  see  the  beauty  of 
holiness,  and  the  importance  of  my  work,  all  that  I  have  to 
meet  with  in  the  prosecution  of  it  disappears  and  is  scarcely 
perceptible. 


116  ,         MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

'  May  2.  Still  I  have  reason  to  bless  God  for  serenity  and 
composure  of  soul :  but  the  state  in  which  I  am,  is  such  as 
precludes  me  from  action,  and  almost  discourages  me.  Yet, 
blessed  be  God,  the  translation  goes  on,  and  I  find  much  pleas- 
ure in  the  prospect  of  being  able  to  print  it  soon. 

'4.  I  have  had  considerable  sweetness  to-day  in  duty,  and 
particularly  in  reading  some  part  of  Witherspoon  on  Regenera- 
tion. I  have  frequently  feared  that  a  day  would  end  in 
wretchedness,  when  the  Lord  has  cleared  my  skies,  and  I  have 
felt  the  sun  of  righteousness  arise  with  healing  under  his 
wings. 

'  8.  Mounshi  is  employed  in  preparing  boats  to  carry  us  up 
the  river  to  Malda.  The  translation  stands  still,  and  my 
soul  is  awfully  barren.  O  what  a  wilderness  I  am  without 
God!     May  he   soon  restore   to  me  the  light  of  his   coun- 


tenance 


'  12.  A  Sabbath  not  quite  unprofitable,  but  attended  rather 
with  perplexity  than  any  enjoyment.  I  hope  the  Sabbath 
above  will  more  than  compensate  for  the  loss  of  so  many 
below,  and  I  hope  not  to  have  many  more  such  as  these  on 
earth.  God  grant  that  I  may  see  much  more  the  beauty  of  his 
ways! 

'  13,  14,  15.  Days  that  have  accumulated  my  guilt,  for  I  have 
done  nothing  for  God ;  and,  what  is  worse,  have  no  desire,  or 
scarcely  any.  O  what  a  blessing  is  the  gospel,  which  provides 
a  Savior  and  a  Sanctifier ! 

'  16.  Tempestuous  without,  but,  blessed  be  God,  calm  and 
serene  within.  O  what  are  all  earthly  pleasures  or  pains,  if  we 
have  God's  presence,  and  that  which  is  its  companion,  the 
testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  that  in  simplicity  and  godly 
sincerity  we  have  had  our  conversation  in  this  world ! 

'  17.  Feel  very  much  degenerated  in  my  soul ;  scarcely  any 
heart  for  God ;  but  a  careless  indolence  possesses  my  spirit, 
and  makes  me  unfit  for  any  thing.  I  need  much  of  the  pres- 
ence of  God  to  conquer  indolence,  to  which  the  heat  of  the 
country  probably  contributes ;  but  my  own  disposition  would 
much  nourish  it,  though  I  bless  God  that  I  never  enjoyed 
better  health. 

'  18.  I  hope  that  not  many  days  will  be  spent  like  this.  We 
expect  our  boats  this  night,  and  hope  we  may  even  go  one  tide 
towards  Malda. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  117 

'  19.  A  Sabbath  almost  fruitless.  I  think  that  I  never  saw 
so  much  of  my  ignorance  as  now.  Very  distressing  circum- 
stances have  put  my  wisdom  to  the  proof,  and  I  feel  myself  to 
possess  very  little  indeed;  but  the  gracious  declaration  of 
promise  in  James,  'If  any  man  lack,'  &c.,  is,  when  considered  as 
the  word  of  a  faithful  God,  like  balm  to  my  soul. 

'  20,  21,  22.  Have  been  days  of  delay,  and  barrenness  to  my 
soul.  I  think  that  I  have  too  much  impatience  under  disap- 
pointments ;  yet  I  can  in  general  feel  a  pleasure  in  thinking 
that  my  times  are  in  the  hand  of  God,  and  that  whatsoever 
becomes  of  me,  yet  he  will  be  glorified  at  last. 

'23.  This  morning,  at  three  o'clock,  set  out  on  our  journey 
to  Malda,  which  is  about  three  hundred  miles,  and  will  take  us 
about  three  weeks.  I  feel  thankful  to  God  for  thus  providing, 
and  also  that  we  have  a  place  of  our  own,  though  not  a  house, 
but  a  boat :  my  sister  stays  behind  us. 

'24.  On  the  river  Jubona  passed  Buddareea,  and  have  felt 
that  satisfaction  and  pleasure  which  I  have  for  a  long  time  been 
a  stranger  to.  But  1  long  for  fresh  anointing  with  the  Spirit  of 
God. 

'  25.  Arrived  at  Chundareea,  on  the  river  of  Isamuty ;  my 
soul  somewhat  more  barren  than  yesterday.  Towards  evening, 
I  felt  myself  somewhat  more  drawn  towards  God,  especially 
when  I  was  surrounded  by  a  large  body  of  the  natives  at  this 
place.  I  had  a  little  talk  with  a  few  of  them,  but  found  myself 
much  at  a  loss  for  words ;  however,  I  find  myself  begin  to  im- 
prove in  my  knowledge  of  the  Hindu  language.  It  is  a  con- 
siderable disadvantage  that  two  languages  are  spoken  all  over 
the  country ;  the  Brahmuns  and  Costs  or  Csests  speak  Bengali, 
and  the  common  people  Hindostani.  I  understand  a  little  of 
both,  and  hope  to  be  master  of  both  ;  but  in  this  I  need  wisdom 
from  above,  as  in  all  things  else. 

'  26.  This  day  kept  Sabbath  at  Chundareea ;  had  a  pleasant 
day.  In  the  morning  and  afternoon  addressed  my  family,  and 
in  the  evening  began  my  work  of  publishing  the  word  of  God 
to  the  heathen.  Though  imperfect  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
language,  yet,  with  the  help  of  Mounshi,  I  conversed  with  two 
Brahmuns  in  the  presence  of  about  two  hundred  people,  about 
the  things  of  God.  I  had  been  to  see  a  temple,  in  which  were 
the  images  of  Dukkinroy,  the  god  of  the  woods,  riding  on  a 


118  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

tiger ;  Sheetulla,  goddess  of  the  small-pox,  without  a  head, 
riding  on  a  horse  without  a  head ;  Punchanon,  with  large  ears  ; 
and  Colloroy,  riding  on  a  horse.  In  another  apartment  was 
Seeb,  which  was  only  a  smooth  post  of  wood,  with  two  or  three 
mouldings  in  it,  like  the  base  of  a  Tuscan  pillar.  I  therefore 
discoursed  with  them  upon  the  vanity  of  idols,  the  folly  and 
wickedness  of  idolatry,  the  nature  and  attributes  of  God,  and 
the  way  of  salvation  by  Christ.  One  Brahmun  was  quite  con- 
founded, and  a  number  of  people  were  all  at  once  crying  out 
to  him,  'Why  do  you  not  answer  him?  Why  do  you  not 
answer  him?'  He  replied,  'I  have  no  words.'  Just  at  this 
time  a  very  learned  Brahmun  came  up,  who  was  desired  to 
talk  with  me ;  which  he  did,  and  so  acceded  to  what  I  said, 
that  he  at  last  said,  images  had  been  used  of  late  years,  but  not 
from  the  beginning.  I  inquired  what  I  must  do  to  be  saved ; 
he  said,  I  must  repeat  the  name  of  God  a  great  many  times.  I 
replied,  would  you,  if  your  son  had  offended  you,  be  so  pleased 
with  him  as  to  forgive  him  if  he  were  to  repeat  the  word 
'father'  a  thousand  times?  This  might  please  children  or 
fools,  but  God  is  wise.  He  told  me  that  I  must  get  faith ;  I 
asked  what  faith  was,  to  which  he  gave  me  no  intelligible 
reply,  but  said  I  must  obey  God.  I  answered,  what  are  his 
commands  ?  What  is  his  will  ?  They  said  God  was  a  great 
light,  and  as  no  one  could  see  him,  he  became  incarnate,  under 
the  threefold  character  of  Brhumma,  Bishno,  and  Seeb,  and 
that  either  of  them  must  be  worshipped  in  order  to  life.  I  told 
them  of  the  sure  word  of  the  gospel,  and  the  way  of  life  by 
Christ ;  and,  night  coming  on,  left  them.  I  cannot  tell  what 
effect  it  may  have,  as  I  may  never  see  them  again. 

'27.  Still  pursuing  our  course  up  the  Isamuty.  This  day 
nothing  material  occurred.  My  soul  tranquil,  but  not  so 
spiritual  as  I  could  wish.  Peace  is  little  worth,  unless  it  arises 
from  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible.  This  day  translated  a 
chapter. 

'28.  •  Arrived  this  night  at  a  place  which  I  named  Musquito 
creek,  from  the  great  number  of  those  insects  which  infested 
us.  Blessed  be  God,  we  all  enjoy  much  better  health  than  we 
have  done ;  though  I  have  reason  to  be  thankful  that  the 
climate  agrees  with  me  better  than  England  did.  Could  I  but 
see  the  cause  of  God  prevail  here,  I  could  triumph  over  all 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  119 

affliction  which  ever  I  have  had  the  fear  of  going  through :  for 
indeed  I  have  gone  through  very  little  yet ;  but  my  carnality  I 
have  daily,  nay,  constant,  reason  to  deplore. 

'  29,  30,  31.  Made  very  little  way,  on  account  of  the  crooked- 
ness of  the  river ;  we  labored  two  days  to  make  about  four 
miles  in  a  straight  line.  I  thought  that  our  course  was  very 
much  like  the  Christian  life,  sometimes  going  forward,  and 
often  apparently  backward,  though  the  last  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  prosecution  of  our  journey.  Had  some  inter- 
vals of  pleasing  reflection  on  my  journey. 

'June  1.  Blessed  be  God,  this  has  not  been  a  day  totally 
lost ;  when  I  can  feel  my  soul  going  out  after  God,  what  pleas- 
ure it  yields !  and  an  hour  spent  with  a  near  and  endearing 
sense  of  the  divine  perfections,  how  very  pleasant  and  refresh- 
ing it  is ! 

'2.  Li  many  respects  this  has  been  a  time  of  refreshing  to 
me.  I  thought  of  trying  to  talk  to  some  poor  people  at  Sultan- 
pore  this  evening;  but  just  before  I  was  going  to  begin, 
a  fire  broke  out  which  consumed  three  houses,  and  called 
the  attention  of  the  few  people  who  were  here,  till  it  was 
too  late. 

'3.  Had  some  serious  thoughts  this  morning  upon  the 
necessity  of  having  the  mind  evangelically  employed.  I  find 
it  is  not  enough  to  have  it  set  upon  duty,  sin,  death,  or  eternity: 
these  are  important ;  but  as  the  gospel  is  the  way  of  a  sinner's 
deliverance,  so  evangelical  truth  should,  and  will,  when  it  is 
well  with  him,  mostly  occupy  his  thoughts.  But  alas,  in  the 
afternoon  I  felt  peevish  and  uncomfortable. 

'  4,  5,  6.  Deadness  and  carnality  prevailed  these  days.  I 
have  no  opportunities  for  retirement,  and,  what  is  worse,  little 
heart  to  retire  :  perhaps  this  is  the  reason  why  I  excuse  myself, 
by  saying,  I  have  no  place. 

'  7.  Arrived  at  Bassetpore,  at  the  place  where  Isamuty  river 
runs  out  of  the  Ganges.  I  was  busied  most  part  of  the  day  in 
procuring  sails,  making  ropes,  &c.,  for  our  boats,  to  go  up  the 
Ganges.  Towards  evening,  went  into  the  river,  but  ran  upon 
a  sand-bank,  and  was  forced  to  come  to  under  an  island.  The 
river  at  this  place  is  eight  or  nine  miles  wide,  but  abounds 
with  sharllows.  Was  in  a  very  unpleasant  state  most  art  of 
the  day. 


120  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

'8.  Sailed  in  the  Ganges,  and  in  the  evening  arrived  at 
Bowlea,  where  we  lay  to  for  the  Sabbath,  to-morrow.  Felt 
thankful  that  God  had  preserved  us,  and  wondered  how  he  can 
regard  so  mean  a  creature.  Was  enabled  this  evening  to 
wrestle  with  God  in  prayer  for  many  of  my  dear  friends  in 
England.  Several  of  my  friends  at  Leicester  lay  very  near  to 
my  heart;  and  several  ministers  of  my  most  intimate  acquaint- 
ance :  I  seemed  to  feel  much  on  their  account.  The  society 
was  an  object  of  my  desires  likewise.  This  was  a  time  of  re- 
freshing to  my  soul  indeed. 

'  9.  I  have  this  day  had  more  enjoyment  of  God  than  for 
many  days  past.  I  trust  that  the  reading  of  the  Bible  has  been 
truly  useful  to  my  soul.  Had  some  affecting  views  of  the  value 
of  Christ,  and  grace,  whilst  reading  part  of  M'Laurin's  Treatise 
on  Christian  Piety.  Felt  enlarged  in  prayer,  and  thankful  for 
the  many  mercies  which  1  daily  receive  from  God  ;  but  my  un- 
profitableness has  been  a  source  of  humiliation  to  me.  Kept 
Sabbath  to-day  near  a  place  called  Rampore  Bowlea,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges. 

'  10.  Pursued  our  journey  on  the  Ganges ;  twice  were  stuck 
fast  on  some  shallows,  which  hindered  us  much,  and  were  the 
cause  of  some  anxiety ;  but  yet  had  a  day  of  mercy,  though  yet 
a  day  of  negligence,  and  disregard,  in  a  great  measure,  of  the 
loss  of  communion  with  God. 

'  11.  This  evening  arrived  at  the  entrance  of  the  river  Maha- 
nunda,  which  goes  to  Malda.  Had  some  little  enjoyment  of 
God  to-day ;  but  travelling  with  a  family  is  a  great  hindrance 
to  holy,  spiritual  meditation. 

*  12,  13,  14.  Proceeded  up  the  river  Mahanunda,  and  arrived 
this  evening  at  Boolahaut,  about  six  miles  from  Malda.  Much 
mercy  has  followed  us  all  through  this  journey ;  and,  consider- 
ing the  very  weak  state  of  my  wife,  we  have  been  supported 
beyond  expectation.  Travelling,  in  general,  I  have  always 
found  unfriendly  to  the  progress  of  the  divine  life  in  my  soul ; 
but  travelling  with  a  family  more  particularly  so.  Yet,  through 
the  mercy  of  God,  I  have  not  been  without  some  seasons  of 
enjoyment  and  inward  delight  in  God,  though  mixed  with  an 
awful  degree  of  coldness  and  inattentiveness  to  that  which, 
when  attended  to,  has  always  been  productive  of  the  greatest 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  to  my  soul. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  121 

'  15.  Received  a  note  from  Mr.  TJdney,  inviting  us  all  to  the 
factory ;  to  w^liich  place  w^e  went,  and  arrived  there  about 
twelve  o'clock.  Found  Mr.  Udney  and  his  mother  very  agree- 
able people  indeed,  and  had  once  more  the  happiness  of  join- 
ing in  prayer  with  those  who  love  God. 

'  16.  This  day  I  preached  twice  at  IVlalda,  where  Mr.  Thomas 
met  me.  In  the  morning  had  much  enjoyment,  and  though 
our  congregation  did  not  exceed  sixteen,  yet  the  pleasure  that 
I  felt  in  having  my  tongue  once  more  loosed,  I  can  hardly  de- 
scribe :  was  enabled  to  be  faithful,  and  felt  a  sweet  affection 
for  immortal  souls. 

'  17,  18.  Had  much  serious  conversation  and  sweet  pleasure 
these  days.  I  feel  now  as  if  released  from  a  prison,  and  enjoy- 
ing the  sweets  of  Christian  fellowship  again.  O  that  our  labors 
may  be  prosperous,  and  our  hearts  made  glad  to  see  the  work 
of  the  Lord  carried  on  with  vigor.  Surely  the  Lord  is  not 
thus  making  room  for  us,  and  removing  every  flifRculty,  without 
some  gracious  design!  I  much  desire  a  spirit  of  activity  and 
affection. 

'  19.  To-day  Mr.  Udney  told  me  that  my  salary  was  to  be 
two  hundred  rujiees  per  month,  and  commission  upon  all  the 
indigo  that  is  sold ;  and  that,  next  year,  he  intended  to  present 
me  with  a  share  in  the  works ;  so  that  my  situation  is  very 
eligible.  His  manner  of  conferring  these  favors  upon  us  (for 
our  situations  arealike)  was  admirable:  'I  always,' said  he, 
'join  the  interest  of  those  I  employ  in  places  of  trust  with  my 
own ;  so  that  no  obligation  lies  upon  you  whatsoever  more 
than  others.'  Resolved  to  write  immediately  to  the  society  in 
England,  that  they  send  me  no  more  snpplies,  as  1  shall  have 
an  ample  sufficiency.  This  gives  me  great  pleasure,  as  I  hope 
they  may  the  sooner  be  able  to  send  another  mission  some- 
where ;  and  I  should  much  recoinmend  Sumatra,  or  some  of 
the  Indian  islands.  If  they  send  to  any  part  south  or  east  of 
Bengal,  it  will  be  best  to  send  them  in  a  foreign  ship  to  Bengal, 
from  whence  their  passage  may  be  taken  in  a  country  ship  to 
any  place ;  and  as  we  have  houses  here,  they  may  stay  with 
either  of  us  till  an  opportunity  offers,  which  will  save  much 
expense. 

12 


CHAPTER    IV 


SECTION  I. 


IMPROVEMENT      IN     MR.      CARETS      SECULAR      CIRCUMSTANCES 

COMMENCES     HIS    ENGAGEMENTS PROPOSES     TO     RELINQUISH 

HIS    SUPPORT  FROM  THE   SOCIETY LETTER  TO  MR.    SUTCLIFF. 

We  have  hitherto  met  w^ith  little  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Carey  but 
discouragement  and  affliction.  The  scene  is  now  relieved,  and 
he  is  introduced  to  comparative  comfort;  at  least  delivered 
from  w^ant,  and  its  consequent  humiliation  and  anxieties.  Not 
that  his  engagements  yielded  him  any  very  large  return ;  two 
hundred  rupees  per  month,  which  was  the  salary  apportioned 
him,  could  have  left  him  but  a  trifling  surplus  when  the  wants 
of  a  large  family  were  supplied.  Mrs.  Carey's  indisposition  so 
increased  upon  her,  that  she  was  quite  incapable  of  regulating 
the  domestic  economy ;  nor  need  any  who  are  acquainted  with 
social  life  in  India  be  informed,  that  the  peculation  of  native 
servants  is  so  universal  and  unremitted,  through  all  the  details 
of  expenditure,  that  no  item  is  ever  excepted  from  it ;  and 
managed,  too,  with  such  perfect  system  and  so  much  subtlety, 
as  to  escape  detection  under  the  most  wakeful  superintendence, 
and  to  defy  all  control.  Yet,  notwithstanding  these  social 
disadvantages,  he  spared  from  one  third  to  one  fourth  of  his 
income  for  missionary  purposes.  For,  from  the  first  day  he 
could  command  a  single  fraction  not  absolutely  required  for 
his  subsistence,  he  began  to  practise  that  rigid  and  unreserved 
consecration  of  his  substance,  for  which  he  continued  so  bright 
an  example  through  life  ;  and  which,  though  for  thirty  years  he 
was  in  receipt  of  a  large  income,  gave  him  the  privilege  and 
the  dignity  of  dying  poor. 

The  labor  requisite  for  discharging  the  duties  of  his  present 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  123 

situation,  might  be  deemed  sufficient  for  the  time  and  strength 
of  any  common  man ;  but,  besides  fulfilling  these  with  a  dili- 
gence and  a  fidelity  reaching  to  the  minutest  circumstances, 
he  attempted  native  education,  acquired  the  dialect  of  the  pro- 
vince in  which  he  lived,  daily  addressed  the  idolatrous  natives, 
often  travelled  considerable  distances  to  preach  in  English, 
maintained  an  extensive  correspondence,  and,  withal,  laid  a 
broad  foundation  of  oriental  grammatical  science,  by  mastering 
the  elements  of  one  of  the  most  difficult  and  classic  languages 
in  the  world. 

His  journal  is  now  continued,  by  the  perusal  of  which  the 
reader  will  be  competently  informed  of  his  exertions,  his  en- 
couragements, and  his  conflicts. 

'  June  19,  1794.  This  evening,  set  out  with  Mr.  Thomas  for 
Mudnabatty,  which  is  to  be  the  place  of  my  residence,  and  is 
thirty-two  miles  north  of  Malda,  in  a  straight  line,  but  nearly 
seventy  by  water,  and  is  upon  the  river  Tanquam. 

'20,  21.  We  were  employed  in  journeying,  and  about  the 
middle  of  the  night  arrived  at  Mudnabatty. 

'  22.  Set  out  again  for  Malda,  and,  as  it  was  down  the  stream, 
arrived  there  in  about  fifteen  hours. 

'  23.  Enjoyed  a  very  pleasant  day  indeed.  I  preached  twice 
with  much  affection ;  one  time  from  Eph.  ii,  13,  '  Ye,  who 
sometime  were  afar  ofl^,  are  brought  nigh  by  the  blood  of 
Christ;'  and  in  the  evening,  from  the  words,  'By  grace  ye  are 
saved.'  There  was  much  seriousness  among  us,  and  I  hope  the 
Sabbath  has  not  been  in  vain. 

'  23.  Had.  some  sweet  conversation  upon  divine  things,  and 
affection  in  praying  with  dear  Christian  friends. 

'24.  Employed  in  sending  off"  my  boat,  which  I  intend  to 
meet  to-morrow  morning.  Had  some  pleasure  and  pain,  I 
trust  of  the  truly  evangelical  kind,  to-day. 

'  25,  26.  Journeyed  to  Mudnabatty ;  arrived  about  two  in 
the  afternoon,  and  spent  the  day  in  regulating  the  concerns 
there. 

'27.  Employed  in  the  works,  but  had  a  pleasant  season 
of  retirement.  It  is  now  just  one  year  and  fourteen  days 
since  I  left  England,  all  which  time  I  have  been  a  sojourner, 
and   wandering  to   and  fro;  at  last,  however,  God  has  pro- 


124  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

vided  me  a  home.      May  he  also  give  me  piety  and  grati- 
tude. 

'28.  I  am  at  ])resent  busily  employed  in  arranging  all  my 
people  and  my  affairs,  having  about  ninety  people  under  my 
management ;  these  will  furnish  a  congregation  immediately, 
and,  added  to  the  extensive  engagements  which  I  must 
necessarily  have  with  the  natives,  will  open  a  very  wide  door 
for  activity.  God  grant  that  it  may  not  only  be  large,  but 
effectual !  I  felt  not  much  spirituality  to-day,  but  had  the 
pleasure  of  detecting  a  shocking  piece  of  oppression  practised 
by  those  natives  who  managed  the  affairs  of  this  place  before 
my  coming.  They  had  hired  laborers  for  two  and  a  half  rupees 
per  month,  but  when  the  poor  people  came  to  be  paid,  they 
deducted  two  anas  *  from  each  man's  pay  for  themselves.  I 
am  glad  of  this  detection  on  two  accounts ;  namely,  as  it  affords 
me  an  opportunity  of  doing  justice  among  the  heathen,  and  of 
exposing  the  wickedness  of  their  leaders,  one  of  their  oppress- 
ors being  a  Brahmun  ;  and  as  it  so  discouraged  the  poor  people 
from  working  for  us  that  we  could  scarcely  procure  laborers 
at  any  rate.  This  will  serve  a  little  to  remove  the  prejudices 
of  the  people  against  Europeans,  and  prepare  a  way  for  the 
publication  of  the  gospel. 

'30.  This  has  been  the  first  Sabbath  spent  at  the  place  of 
my  intended  abode.  I  passed  the  day  in  reading  and  prayer. 
Found  some  sweet  devotedness  to  God  towards  evening,  and 
much  concern  lest  I  should  become  negligent  after  so  great 
mercies.  But  if,  after  God  has  so  wonderfully  made  way  for 
us,  I  sliould  neglect  the  very  work  for  which  I  came  hither,  the 
blackest  brand  of  guilt  and  infamy  must  lie  upon  my  soul. 
Found  myself  desirous  of  being  entirely  devoted  to  God,  and 
disposed  of  by  him  just  as  he  pleases.  I  felt  also  much  con- 
cern for  the  success  of  the  gospel  among  the  heathen. 

'Julyl,  2,  3.  Much  engaged  in  the  necessary  business  of 
preparing  our  works  for  the  approaching  season  of  indigo 
making,  w^hich  will  commence  in  about  a  fortnight.  I  had,  on 
the  evening  of  each  of  these  days,  very  precious  seasons  of 
fervent  prayer  to  God.  1  have  been  on  these  evenings  much 
drawn  out  in  prayer  for  my  dear  friends  at  Leicester,  and  for 

*  Sixteen  anas  make  one  runee, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  195 

the  society,  that  it  may  be  prosperous  ;  likewise  for  the  minis- 
ters of  my  acquaintance,  not  only  of  the  Baptist,  but  other 
denominations.  I  was  engaged  for  the  churches  in  America 
and  Holland,  as  well  as  England ;  and  much  concerned  for  the 
success  of  the  gospel  among  the  Hindus.  At  present  I  know 
not  of  any  success  since  I  have  been  here.  Many  say  that  the 
gospel  is  the  word  of  truth  ;  but  they  abound  so  much  in 
flattery  and  encomiums,  which  are  mere  words,  of  course,  that 
little  can  be  said  respecting  their  sincerity.  The  very  common 
sins  of  lying  and  avarice  are  so  universal,  also,  that  no  European 
who  has  not  witnessed  it  can  form  any  idea  of  their  various 
appearances  :  they  will  stoop  to  any  thing  whatsoever  to  get  a 
few  cowries,  and  lie  on  every  occasion.  O  how  desirable  is  the 
spread  of  the  gospel ! 

'  July  4.  Rather  more  flat,  perhaps  owing  to  the  excessive 
heat;  for  in  the  rainy  season,  if  there  be  a  fine  day,  it  is' very 
hot  indeed.  Such  has  been  this  day  ;  and  I  was  necessitated  to 
be  out  in  it  from  morning  till  evening,  giving  necessary  direc- 
tions. I  felt  very  much  fatigued  indeed,  and  had  no  spirits  left 
in  the  evening,  and  in  prayer  was  very  barren. 

'  5.  Very  poorly  to-day,  from  being  exposed  to  yesterday's 
heat,  and  obliged  to  be  rather  more  cautious ;  felt  little  heart 
for  the  things  of  God  till  evening,  when  I  was  much  comforted 
by  reading  of  the  fidelity  and  constancy  of  Job,  in  the  first  two 
chaptei*s ;  wished  for  the  same  spirit,  and  afterwards  was 
much  enlarged  in  prayer  to  God ;  my  soul  was  drawn  out  for 
the  success  of  the  gospel  among  the  heathen.  Had  some 
pleasant  and  spiritual  conversation  with  Mounshi,  who  I  hope 
will  lose  caste  for  the  gospel,  which,  with  a  Hindu  of  his  rank, 
is  a  greater  sacrifice  than  life,  his  being  the  highest,  except  the 
Brahmun.  Their  strong  attachment  to  caste  may  appear  by 
the  following  incident.  As  I  was  coming  up  hither  I  was  in 
great  want  of  a  servant-boy.  At  a  place  which  we  passed 
through,  a  poor  boy  of  the  shoemaker  caste,  which  is  the  very 
lowest  of  all,  so  that  no  Hindu,  or  even  Mussulman  of  credit, 
will  suffer  one  of  them  to  come  into  his  house,  but  they  are 
universally  despised,  much  more  than  can  be  conceived,  came 
begging  to  Mounshi,  and  said  that  he  had  neither  food,  clothing, 
nor  friends,  but  was  an  orphan.  Mounshi  asked  him  to  come 
12* 


126  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

as  my  sei-vant,  and  told  him  that  he  should  have  a  sufficiency 
of  all  necessaries,  and,  if  he  behaved  v^-ell,  be  taken  good  care 
of;  but,  for  fear  of  losing  caste,  he  refused.  Perhaps  this  is 
one  of  the  strongest  chains  with  which  the  devil  ever  bound 
the  children  of  men.  This  is  my  comfort,  that  God  can 
break  it. 

'  7.  Busy  all  day,  but  rather  more  inclined  to  contemplate 
spiritual  things.  This  evening  was  enabled  to  plead  a  little 
with  God  for  the  heathen  ;  but  it  was  so  flat,  and  destitute  of 
strong  crying  and  tears,  that  it  scarcely  deserves  the  name  of 
prayer.  Had  some  profitable  conversation  with  Mounshi  this 
evening ;  and,  indeed,  he  is  the  only  conversable  person  in  this 
place,  all  the  natives  here  being  very  ignorant,  and  speaking 
a  dialect  which  differs  as  much  from  true  Bengali,  as  the 
Lancashire  dialect  does  from  true  English;  so  that  I  have 
hard  work  to  understand  them,  and  to  make  them  understand 
me. 

'July  9. — Aug.  4.  Employed  in  visiting  several  factories,  to 
learn  the  process  of  indigo  making.  Had  some  very  pleasant 
seasons  at  Malda,  where  I  preached  several  times,  and  the 
people  seemed  much  affected  with  the  word.  One  day,  as  Mr. 
Thomas  and  I  were  riding  out,  we  saw  a  basket  hung  in  a  tree, 
in  which  an  infant  had  been  exposed ;  the  skull  remained,  the 
rest  having  been  devoured  by  ants.  On  the  last  of  these  days 
I  ar  -ived  with  my  family  at  Mudnabatty,  the  place  of  my  future 
residence  and  the  seat  of  the  mission. 

'  ,6,7.  Much  employed  in  settling  the  affairs  of  the  build- 
ing ,  &c.,  having  been  absent  so  long,  and  several  of  our 
maiaging  and  principal  people  being  sick.  It  is  indeed  an 
awfid  time  here  with  us  now ;  scarcely  a  day  but  some  are 
seized  with  fevers.  It  is,  I  believe,  owing  to  the  abundance  of 
water,  there  being  rice-fields  all  around  us,  in  which  they  dam 
up  the  water,  so  that  all  the  country  hereabouts  is  about  a  foot 
deep  in  water ;  and  as  we  have  rain,  though  moderate  to  what 
I  expected  the  rainy  season  to  be,  yet  the  continual  moisture 
occasions  fevers  in  such  situations  Avhere  rice  is  cultivated. 
Yet  the  rainy  season  is  the  most  pleasant  weather  in  this  coun- 
try ;  nor  do  I  think  the  rains  any  more  violent  than  summer 
rains  in  England.     Felt  at  home  and  thankful  these  days.     O 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  127 

that  I  may  be  very  useful !  I  must  soon  learn  the  language 
tolerable  well,  for  I  am  obliged  to  converse  with  the  natives 
every  day,  having  no  other  persons  here  except  my  family. 

'  On  the  two  last  of  these  days  the  Mahomedans  were  em- 
ployed in  celebrating  the  Mohurrum,  the  time  of  lamentation 
for  the  slaughter  of  Mahomed's  family.  They  were  going 
about  with  pipes,  drums,  &c.,  incessantly  for  two  days  and 
nights  ;  and,  on  the  last  day,  upwards  of  a  thousand  people  of 
all  ages  came  just  before  our  door,  the  house  being  built  on 
the  bank  of  a  tank,  part  of  which  is  consecrated  to  a  peer,  or 
spirit  of  some  saint  who  was  buried  there.  They  wished 
much  to  display  the  whole  scene  to  us ;  though  perhaps  half 
of  them  came  out  of  curiosity,  having  never  seen  a  white 
woman,  and  many  not  a  white  man,  before ;  and  it  was  very 
curious  to  hear  them  inquiring  one  of  another,  which  was 
Saib,  and  which  was  Bibby  Saib,  that  is,  which  was  I,  and 
which  my  wife.  They  brought  four  or  five  ornamented  biers,  in 
which  the  dead  family  of  Mahomed  are  supposed  to  be  repre- 
sented; and  after  the  whole  exhibition  was  ended,  they  buried 
or  drowned  tliem  in  the  tank,  and  then  dispersed.  Their  zeal 
on  these  occasions  is  very  great ;  every  thing  is  sacrificed  to 
their  religion,  and  every  Mussulman,  rich  or  poor,  joins  in  the 
ceremony.' 

'To  THE  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 

^  Mudnahatty,  Aug.  5,  179^. 
'Dear  Brethren, 

'lam,  through  the  mercy  of  God,  still  in  the  land  of  he 
living,  and  have  been  led  by  divine  providence  throughi  an 
amazing  labyrinth  of  circumstances,  till  I  am  in  a  very  unex- 
pected manner  settled  in  this  place,  and  surrounded  with  the 
most  pleasant  circumstances  and  flattering  prospects. 

'  My  last  letters  to  England  were  from  Manicktullo,  from 
which  place  I  removed  to  Dayhotta,  and  was  there  preparing 
a  house,  and  had  taken  land  to  cultivate  for  the  support  of  my 
family.  Mr.  T.  had  likeAvise  engaged  in  his  own  profession  at 
Calcutta,  on  which  account  we  were  separated  about  forty 
miles.  But  Mrs.  Udney  at  Malda  being  very  ill,  through  grief 
on  account  of  the  death  of  her  son  and  his  wife  at  Calcutta, 
who  were  both  drowned  in  crossing  the  river  in  the  night,  Mr. 


128  MEMOIR    or    DR.  CAREY. 

T.  was  sent  for  to  attend  her.  It  was  remarkable  that  Mr. 
Udney,  of  Malda,  had  just  begun  to  erect  two  indigo  manufac- 
tories at  some  distance  north  of  Malda,  but  without  knowing 
of  any  persons  to  superintend  them  ;  he  therefore  engaged  Mr. 
T.  to  take  the  oversight  of  one,  and  wrote  to  me  to  superintend 
the  other.  This  seemed  to  me  such  a  remarkable  appearance 
of  providence,  so  unexpected,  unsought  for,  and  furnishing  so 
ample  supplies  for  our  wants,  and  at  the  same  time  opening 
so  large  a  field  for  usefulness,  putting  us  each  in  a  state  of 
direct  or  indirect  influence  over  more  than  a  thousand  people, 
that  I  could  not  hesitate  a  moment  in  concluding  it  to  be  the 
hand  of  God ;  I  therefore  left  my  unfinished  house  and  farm, 
and  set  out  to  Malda,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 

'My  place  is  about  thirty  miles  further  north,  and  Mr.  T.'s 
sixteen  or  seventeen  miles  further  than  mine.  We  are  sit- 
uated between  the  rivers  Tanquam  and  Purnabudda,  in  the 
district  of  Dinagepore,  and  within  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
of  Thibet.  The  name  of  my  place  is  Mudnabatty ;  that  of  Mr. 
T.,  Moypaldiggy.  Here,  then,  is  the  principal  seat  of  the  mis- 
sion ;  and  if  any  lose  caste  for  the  gospel,  we  have  good  and 
profitable  employment  for  them.  Mr.  Udney  allows  us  each 
two  hundred  rupees  per  month,  with  commission  for  all  the 
indigo  we  make,  and  promises  next  year  to  present  us  each 
with  a  fourth  share  of  our  respective  works.  In  consequence 
of  which  I  now  inform  the  society,  that  I  can  subsist  without 
any  further  assistance  from  them ;  and  at  the  same  time  sin- 
cerely thank  them  for  the  exertions  they  have  made,  and  hope 
that  what  was  intended  to  supply  my  wants,  may  be  appropri- 
ated to  some  other  mission.  At  the  same  time  it  will  be  my 
glory  and  joy  to  stand  in  the  same  near  relation  to  the  society 
as  if  I  needed  supplies  from  them,  and  to  maintain  the  same 
correspondence  with  them.  The  only  favor  that  I  beg  is,  that 
I  may  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  new  publications  that 
come  out  in  our  connexion,  and  the  books  that  I  wrote  for 
before,  viz.,  a  polyglot  Bible,  Arabic  Testament,  Malay  Gospel, 
and  Botanical  Magazine. 

'Whatever  you  send,  Mr.  Savage  will  contrive  to  get  on 
board  some  ship ;  and  if  directed  to  me  at  this  place,  to  the 
care  of  Tulloh  and  Co.,  Calcutta,  will  be  sure  to  reach  me.  I 
wish  you  also  to  send  me  a  few  instruments  of  husbandi-y,  viz., 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  129 

scythes,  sickles,  plough-wheels,  and  such  things ;  and  a  yearly 
assortment  of  all  garden  and  flowering  seeds,  and  seeds  of 
fruit-trees,  that  you  can  possibly  procure ;  and  let  them  be 
packed  in  papers,  or  bottles  well  stopped,  which  is  the  best 
method :  all  these  things,  at  whatever  price  you  can  procure 
them,  and  the  seeds  of  all  sorts  of  field  and  forest-trees,  &c. 
I  will  regularly  remit  you  the  money  for  every  year ;  and  I 
hope  that  I  may  depend  upon  the  exertions  of  my  numerous 
friends  to  procure  them.  Apply  to  London  seedsmen  and 
others,  as  it  will  be  a  lasting  adv  antage  to  this  country ;  and  I 
shall  have  it  in  my  power  to  do  this  for  what  I  now  call  my 
own  country.     Only  take  care  that  they  are  new  and  dry. 

'A  large  door  is  opened,  and  I  have  great  hopes.  I  cannot 
speak  the  language  so  well  as  to  converse  much,  but  begin  a 
little.  Mounshi  is  not  yet  baptized.  Moliun  Chund  is  either 
a  Christian  or  a  great  impostor.  Parbotee  I  have  not  yet  seen : 
he  is  at  a  great  distance  from  us.  We  are  upon  the  point  of 
forming  a  church ;  but  our  beginning  will  be  but  small, — five 
or  six  persons.  Mr.  Udney  is,  I  think,  a  truly  pious  man,  and 
his  mother  a  serious  woman  ;  but  they  are  not  Baptists.  We 
have  a  pretty  congregation  at  his  h0ise,  perhaps  twenty  per- 
sons, who  live  in  the  compass  of  80  or  100  miles,  consequently 
are  all  there  together  but  seldom.  I  have  hopes  of  about  half 
of  them:  they  are  praying  people. 

'  The  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  gospel  are  very  great,  and 
were  it  not  that  God  is  almighty  and  true,  would  be  insur- 
mountable. The  caste  is  such  a  superstition  as  no  European 
can  conceive,  and  more  tenaciously  regarded  than  life.  It  was, 
I  think,  originally  political,  but  is  now  interwoven  with  every 
circumstance  of  their  lives ;  and  their  deceit  and  avarice  are 
unparalleled.  But  the  work  was  begun  by  God,  and  I  doubt 
not  but  he  will  carry  it  on. 

'  My  journal  I  intend  to  send  by  the  ships  of  this  season,  in 
which,  though  the  greatest  part  is  personal,  relating  to  myself, 
yet  some  hints  will  be  found  relative  to  what  I  have  observed 
among  the  Hindus. 

'I  was  much  disappointed  on  the  arrival  of  the  Nancy, 
packet,  by  the  return  of  which  I  send  this,  at  not  receiving 
one  European  letter.     Surely  you  have  not  forgotten  us.     As 


130  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

the  packet  is  expected  every  day  to  sail,  and  I  have  been  re- 
moving so  much  from  place  to  place  till  this  week,  I  must 
refer  all  my  friends  to  this  letter,  and  desire  to  be  remembered 
to  all  the  churches  and  ministers  of  Christ,  especially  my 
Christian  acquaintance. 

'I  am,  with  warm  affection,  yours,  W.  Carey.' 

To  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'Mudnahaity,  Aug.  9,  '94. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'I  scarcely  think  this  letter  can  be  in  time  for  the  packet; 
but  write,  hoping  that  it  may.  I  have  hastily  written  to  the , 
society ;  but  many  particulars  I  have  reserved  to  write  to  my 
friends  which  are  not  there  mentioned.  The  packet  sailing 
much  sooner  than  was  expected,  will  however  make  it  impos- 
sible for  me  to  write  to  many. 

'  The  particulars  of  my  situation  I  mentioned  in  that  letter, 
and  only  observe  to  you  that  a  more  eligible  situation  could 
not  have  been  chosen.  Mr.  T.  and  I  are  only  sixteen  miles 
distant  from  each  other,  and  our  respective  factories  will  fur- 
nish support  for  severalMiousands  of  people ;  so  that  there 
will  be  a  comfortable  and  honorable  asylum  for  all  who  lose 
caste  for  the  gospel. 

'  I  have  not  yet  seen  Parbotee.  Mounshi  is  with  me,  and  I 
hope  is  a  real  Christian,  but  wants  zeal  and  fortitude :  he  has 
not  yet  lost  caste.  Mohun  Chund  professes  more  zeal  than 
Mounshi,  but  there  is  something  suspicious  in  him.  It  is  very 
difficult  to  get  these  people  together :  travelling  is  expensive, 
and  they  are  all  poor ;  though  Mounshi's  was  one  of  the  first 
families  in  that  part  of  Bengal,  till  ruined  by  Mr.  Hastings. 
We  are  now  just  upon  the  point  of  forming  a  gospel  church, 
which  I  hope  may  be  prosperous. 

'  As  for  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  the  country,  we  think 
very  little  about  them.  Some  diseases  are  very  common  here ; 
as  dysentery,  which  generally  arises  from  the  coldness  of  the 
night  air,  after  the  heat  of  the  day.  With  this  disorder  my 
wife  and  eldest  son  have  been  afflicted  for  eight  months ;  my 
wife  is  nearly  well,  but  my  son  very  ill  now.  Fevers  are  fre- 
quent in  the  rains,  or  rather  agues ;  perhaps  arising  from  the 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  131 

number  of  rice-fields  which  are  full  of  water.  But  the  coun- 
try agrees  better  with  my  health  than  England  did :  I  never 
was  better  in  my  life. 

'  We  have  no  fear  of  beasts,  though  there  are  many  buffa- 
loes, hogs  and  tigers  in  our  neighborhood.  Tigers  seldom 
attack  men,  but  commit  dreadful  devastation  among  cattle  ; 
except  those  of  the  Sunderbunds,  a  very  large  forest  near  the 
sea,  where  there  are  no  cattle ;  there  they  seize  men.  Ser- 
pents are  numerous;  and  some  so  mortal  that  the  patient 
never  survives  two  hours,  and  often  dies  in  five  minutes  ;  but 
they  give  us  no  concern,  or  very  little.  Crocodiles  no  man 
minds :  I  have  one  in  a  pond  about  ten  yards  from  my  door, 
yet  sleep  with  the  door  open  every  night.  The  whole  country 
is  one  large  valley  or  plain,  without  a  hill  ten  feet  high,  unless 
made  by  art,  or  a  single  spring  of  water.  The  Ganges  and 
Berhampooter  run  quite  through  it ;  each  of  them  about  three 
miles  wide  upon  an  average,  though  in  many  places  ten,  with 
large  inhabited  islands  in  the  middle ;  and  these  branch  out 
into  some  hundreds  of  rivers  more,  many  as  large  as  the 
Thames.  Major  Rennel's  map,  or  rather  atlas,  of  India,  will 
give  you  a  very  just  idea  of  the  geography  of  this  country; 
and  Sonnerat's  voyage  will  furnish  you  with  the  best  epitome 
of  Hindu  mythology  extant :  allowing  for  the  different  writing 
of  names  in  different  dialects,  he  has  related  the  whole  in  a 
very  just  and  impartial  manner. 

'  The  language  is  very  copious,  and  I  think  beautiful.  I  be- 
gin to  converse  in  it  a  little  ;  but  my  third  son,  about  five  years 
old,  speaks  it  fluently.  Indeed,  there  are  two  distinct  lan- 
guages spoken  all  over  the  country,  viz.,  the  Bengali,  spoken 
by  the  Brahmuns  and  higher  Hindus;  and  the  Hindostani, 
spoken  by  the  Mussulmans  and  lower  Hindus,  which  is  a 
mixture  of  Bengali  and  Persian.  I  intend  to  send  you  soon  a 
copy  of  Genesis,  Matthew,  Mark,  and  James,  in  Bengali ;  with 
a  small  vocabulary  and  grammar  of  the  language,  in  manu- 
script, of  my  own  composing,  to  which  you  will  afford  a  place 
on  one  of  the  shelves  in  your  library.  I  have  written  to  the 
society  to  stop  my  allowance,  as  I  am  amply  provided  for; 
perhaps  it  might  be  acceptable  to  Mr.  Thomas  to  continue  his 
a  little  longer  on  account  of  his  debts. 

'I  cannot  say  much  about  myself.     I  intend  to  send  my 


132  MEMOIR    or    DR.  CARET. 

journal  soon ;  but  it  only  relates  to  myself,  or  very  little  to 
other  things.  However,  I  may  express  my  hope,  nay,  I  may 
say  confidence,  that  God,  who  has  so  astonishingly  made  our 
way  plain  and  clear,  will  bless  the  word  to  the  conversion  of 
many,  and  thus  crown  the  wishes  of  the  praying  ministers  and 
people  in  England. 

'  At  present,  being  incapable  of  preaching,  I  can  say  nothing 
of  success ;  but  my  heart  is  engaged  in  the  work,  and  I  know 
that  God  can  convert  the  most  obstinate  and  superstitious,  and 
has  promised  to  do  it.  This  is  the  foundation  of  my  hope, 
and  in  this  confidence  I  engage  in  the  work.     Adieu, 

'  Affectionately  yours, 

'  W.  Caret.' 


SECTION    II. 

JOURNAL CHRISTIAN    SOCIETT LANGUAGE,   &C. 

'  Aug.  16 — 24.  Nothing  worth  recording  passed.  I  feel  too 
much  sameness  to  be  spiritual.  If  I  were  in  a  more  spiritual 
frame,  the  holy  war  would  be  carried  on  in  my  soul  with 
greater  vigor,  and  the  fresh  discoveries  of  sin  would  cause 
new  hopes,  new  fears,  and  new  struggles ;  but  when  I  am  at 
ease,  it  is  like  a  calm  at  sea,  where  there  is  a  contrary  current: 
I  not  only  get  no  ground,  but  am  insensibly  carried  back. 

'  The  last  of  these  days  was  Lord's  day ;  I  spent  it  in  read- 
ing to  and  praying  with  my  family.  Towards  evening  I  went 
out,  when  the  workmen  who  have  built  the  works  came  to  me, 
and  said  that,  as  I  was  to  begin  making  indigo  to-morrow,  it 
was  much  their  wish  that  I  would  make  an  offering  to  Kally, 
the  goddess  of  destruction,  that  I  might  have  success  in  the 
work.     This  Kally  is  the  most  devil-like  figure  that  can  be 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  133 

thought  of:  she  stands  upon  a  dead  man;  her  gh'dle  rs  strung 
with  small  figures  of  human  skulls,  like  beads  upon  a  bracelet ; 
she  has  four  arms,  and  her  tongue  hangs  out  of  her  mouth 
below  her  chin;  and,  in  short,  a  more  horrible  figure  can 
scarcely  be  conceived  of  I  took  the  opportunity  of  remon- 
strating v/ith  them  upon  the  wickedness  and  folly  of  idolatry, 
and  set  my  face  as  much  as  possible  against  their  making  any 
offering  at  all,  and  told  them  that  I  would  rather  lose  my  life 
than  sacrifice  to  their  idol ;  that  God  was  much  displeased 
with  them  for  their  idolatry,  and  exhorted  them  to  leave  it  and 
turn  to  the  true  God.  But  I  had  the  mortification  of  seeing, 
the  next  day,  that  they  had  been  offering  a  kid ;  yet  I  doubt 
not  but  I  shall  soon  see  some  of  these  people  brought  from 
darkness  to  the  marvellous  light  of  the  gospel. 

'25.  Had  some  little  spirituality,  but  much  interrupted, 
through  the  carelessness  of  our  head  man.  Had  some  sweet 
wrestling  and  freedom  with  God  in  prayer.  These  seasons 
are  but  of  short  duration,  but  they  are  little  foretastes  of 
heaven.  O  may  God  continue  them  long,  and  frequently  thus 
visit  my  soul ! 

'27.  Nothing  new.  My  soul  is  in  general  unfruitful ;  yet  I 
find  a  pleasure  in  drawing  near  to  God,  and  a  peculiar  sweet- 
ness in  his  holy  word.  I  find  it  more  and  more  to  be  a  very 
precious  treasure. 

'28 — .30.  Nothing  of  any  importance,  except,  to  my  shame, 
a  prevalence  of  carnality,  negligence,  and  spiritual  deadness; 
no  heart  for  private  duties ;  indeed  every  thing  seems  to  be 
going  to  decay  in  my  soul,  and  I  almost  despair  of  being  of 
any  use  to  the  heathen  at  all. 

'  31.  Was  somewhat  engaged,  more  than  of  late,  in  the 
things  of  God ;  I  felt  some  new  devotedness  to  God,  and  de- 
sire to  live  entirely  to  him  and  for  his  glory.  O  that  I  could 
live  always  as  under  his  eye,  and  feel  a  sense  of  his  immedi- 
ate presence  !     This  is  life,  and  all  besides  is  death  to  my  soul. 

'  Sept.  1 — Oct.  1.  During  this  time  I  have  had  a  heavy  and 
long  affliction,  having  been  taken  with  a  violent  fever.  One 
of  the  paroxysms  continued  for  twenty-six  hours  without 
intermission,  when,  providentially,  Mr.  Udney  came  to  visit  us, 
not  knowing  that  I  was  ill,  and  brought  a  bottle  of  bark  with 
him.  This  was  a  great  providence,  as  I  was  growing  worse 
13 


134  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

every  day ;  but  the  use  of  this  medicine,  by  the  blessing  of 
God,  recovered  me.  In  about  two  days  I  relapsed,  and  the 
fever  was  attended  with  a  violent  vomiting  and  a  dysentery ; 
and  even  now  I  am  very  ill,  Mr.  Thomas  says,  with  some  of 
the  very  worst  symptoms.  On  the  last  of  these  days  it  pleased 
God  to  remove,  by  death,  my  youngest  child  but  one ;  a  fine 
engaging  boy  of  rather  more  than  five  years  of  age.  He  had 
been  seized  with  a  fever,  and  was  recovering ;  but  relapsed, 
and  a  violent  dysentery  carried  him  oflT.  On  the  same  day  we 
were  obliged  to  bury  him,  which  was  an  exceedmgly  difficult 
thing.  I  could  induce  no  person  to  make  a  coffin,  though  two 
carpenters  are  constantly  employed  by  us  at  the  works.  Four 
Mussulmans,  to  keep  each  other  in  countenance,  dug  a  grave ; 
but,  though  we  had  between  two  and  three  hundred  laborers 
employed,  no  man  would  carry  him  to  the  grave.  We  sent 
seven  or  eight  miles  to  get  a  person  to  do  that  office ;  and  I 
concluded  that  I  and  my  wife  would  do  it  ourselves,  when  at 
last  a  servant,  kept  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning,  and  a  boy  who 
had  lost  caste,  were  prevailed  upon  to  carry  the  corpse,  and 
secure  the  grave  from  the  jackals.  This  was  not  owing  to  any 
disrespect  in  the  natives  towards  us,  but  only  to  the  cursed 
caste.  The  Hindus  burn  their  dead,  or  throw  them  into  the 
rivers  to  be  devoured  by  birds  and  fishes.  The  Mussulmans 
inhume  their  dead ;  but  this  is  only  done  by  their  nearest  rela- 
tions ;  and  so  much  do  they  abhor  every  thing  belonging  to  a 
corpse,  that  the  bamboos  on  which  they  carry  their  dead  to 
the  water  or  the  grave,  are  never  touched  or  burnt,  but  stand 
in  the  place,  and  rot ;  and  if  they  only  tread  upon  a  grave,  they 
are  polluted,  and  never  fail  to  wash  after  it. 

'  The  points  of  coincidence  between  the  Jewish  people  and 
the  Hindus  are  so  very  numerous,  that  both  in  their  religious, 
ceremonial,  and  throughout  their  domestic  economy,  you 
are  continually  reminded  of  some  scriptural  term,  inci- 
dent, or  usage.  When  engaged  in  preparing  a  harmony  of 
the  four  Gospels  in  the  Bengali  language,  my  Pundit  would 
often  interpose  the  remark,  '  Sir,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but 
the  Jews  were  originally  Hindus.' 

'During  this  affliction  my  frame  of  mind  was  various ;  some- 
times I  enjoyed  sweet  seasons  of  self-examination  and  prayer, 
as  I  lay  upon  my  bed.     Many  hours  together  I  sweetly  spent 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  135 

in  contemplating  subjects  for  preaching,  and  in  musing  over 
discourses  in  Bengali;  and  when  my  animal  spirits  were 
somewhat  raised  by  the  fever,  I  found  myself  able  to  reason 
and  discourse  in  Bengali  for  some  hours  together,  and  words 
and  phrases  occurred  much  more  readily  than  when  1  was  in 
health.  When  my  dear  child  was  ill,  I  was  enabled  to  attend 
upon  him  night  and  day,  though  very  dangerously  ill  myself, 
without  much  fatigue  ;  and  now,  I  bless  God  that  I  feel  a  sweet 
resignation  to  his  will.  I  know  that  he  has  wise  ends  to 
answ^er  in  all  that  he  does,  and  that  what  he  does  is  best;  and 
if  his  great  and  wise  designs  are  accomplished,  what  does  it 
signify  if  a  poor  worm  feels  a  little  inconvenience  and  pain, 
who  deserves  hell  for  his  sins  ? 

'  Oct.  12.  This  day  Mr.  Thomas  came  to  see  me,  and  we 
spent  the  Sabbath  together.  We  agreed  to  spend  the  Tuesday 
morning  every  week  in  joint  though  separate  prayer  to  God 
for  a  blessing  on  the  mission.  I  felt  a  sweet  resignation  to  the 
divine  will  this  day. 

'  13.  This  day  a  very  disagreeable  circumstance  turned  up. 
Though  the  Mussulmans  have  no  caste,  yet  they  have  imper- 
ceptibly adopted  the  Hindu  notions  about  a  caste,  and  look 
upon  themselves  as  a  distinct  one ;  in  consequence  of  this  they 
will  neither  eat  nor  drink  with  any  but  Mussulmans.  On  ac- 
count of  the  four  men  above  mentioned  digging  a  grave  for 
my  poor  child,  the  Mundal,  that  is,  the  principal  person  in  the 
village,  who  rents  immediately  under  the  Rajah,  and  lets  lands 
and  houses  to  the  other  people  in  the  place,  forbad  every  per- 
son in  the  village  to  eat,  drink,  or  smoke  tobacco  wdth  them 
and  their  families,  so  that  they  were  supposed  to  have  lost 
caste.  The  poor  men  came  to  me  full  of  distress,  and  told 
their  story.  Mr.  Thomas  being  with  me,  we  sent  for  the 
principal  Mussulmans  in  the  neighborhood,  and  inquired 
whether  they  thought  these  men  had  done  any  thing  amiss ; 
and  they  said,  no.  Then  we  sent  two  Hircarrahs  *  to  call  the 
Mimdal  who  had  forbidden  the  people  to  have  any  intercourse 
with  them,  but  with  secret  orders  to  bring  him  by  force  if  he 
refused  to  come.  He  soon  came,  however,  and  then  said  that 
they  had  done  no  fault,  and  that  he  would  smoke  but  not  eat 

*  Messen^er^. 


136  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

with  them.  As  we  knew  it  to  be  a  piece  of  spite,  and  a  trick 
to  get  money,  we  placed  two  guards  over  him,  and  told  him 
that  he  must  either  eat  and  drink  with  the  men  before  the 
men  of  his  own  village,  or  stay  here  till  we  had  sent  the  four 
men  to  Dinagepore,  to  the  judge,  about  the  matter.  He  stood 
out,  however,  till  about  dinner-time  ;  when,  being  hungry,  he 
thought  fit  to  alter  his  terms,  and  of  his  own  accord  wrote  and 
signed  a  paper,  purporting  that  the  men  were  innocent,  and 
he  a  guilty  person.  He  then  went  away  and  gave  them  a 
dmner,  and  ate  and  drank  with  them  in  the  presence  of  the 
people  of  the  village,  and  persons  whom  we  had  sent  to  wit- 
ness it.  Thus  ended  this  troublesome  affair,  which  might  also 
have  proved  a  very  expensive  one  if  it  had  not  ended  thus.  I 
feel  these  things ;  but,  blessed  be  God,  I  am  resigned  to  his 
will,  and  that  makes  me  easy  under  all. 

'  14 — 20.  Very  ill,  and  scarcely  able  to  crawl  about ;  but 
supported  through  all  by  the  upholding  hand  of  a  gracious 
God. 

'Mr.  Udney, having  for  some  time  past  designed  to  settle  me 
in  a  more  healthy  spot,  this  having  proved  remarkably  un- 
healthy, had  projected  a  journey  towards  Thibet  for  me  and 
Mr.  Thomas.  This  was  designed  in  part  for  my  health,  and  in 
part  to  seek  for  a  more  eligible  spot  for  new  works.  Accord- 
ingly I  set  out  this  day,  the  20th,  in  Mr.  Udney's  pinnace,  with 
my  family,  up  the  Tanquam  river ;  but  I  was  so  weak  and 
poorly  that  I  could  scarcely  hold  up  my  head.  I  felt,  hovy^ever, 
secret  drawings  of  soul  after  God,  and  a  desire  to  be  directed 
by  him  in  all  things. 

'  21.  Arrived  this  evening  at  Moypaldiggy,  at  Mr.  Thomas's. 
Company  and  conversation  raised  my  spirits,  and  I  hope  the 
time  was  profitably  spent. 

'22.  At  Moypaldiggy,  somewhat  better,  but  very  weak. 
We  had  some  profitable  discourse,  and  spent  some  time  in 
prayer  with  each  other.  It  is  good  to  enjoy  the  communion 
of  saints ;  and  its  value  can  scarcely  be  estimated,  unless  in  a 
situation  like  mine,  where  I  am  surrounded  with  Pagans  and 
Mahomedans,  and  have  no  other  to  converse  with. 

'  24,  Still  going  on  our  excursion.  This  evening  we  were 
forced  to  come-to  in  the  midst  of  a  jungle ;  and  in  the  night  I, 
who  was  the  only  person  awake,  heard  some  animal  make  a 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  137 

very  violent  spring  at  the  boat ;  it  awoke  Mr.  Thomas,  and  we 
immediately  concluded  that  it  must  be  a  tiger.  We  therefore 
arose,  and  counted  all  the  men,  who,  to  the  number  of  eight 
or  ten,  were  sleeping  upon  the  open  deck;  but  providentially 
all  were  safe.  All  concluded  that  it  was  a  tiger  springing  at  a 
jackal,  and  that  the  jackal,  to  avoid  him,  had  jumped  to  the 
boat.  We  could,  however,  discover  no  marks  of  any  animal 
in  the  sand  but  jackals  ;  yet,  as  they  never  spring  at  their  prey, 
it  is  certain  it  must  have  been  a  tiger  or  leopard ;  and  the 
people  told  us  that  a  male  and  female  tiger  had  their  nest, 
with  young,  near  the  place  where  we  were,  and  had  killed  a 
buffalo  the  day  before.  We  were,  however,  mercifully  pre- 
served ;  indeed,  the  men,  and  not  we,  were  in  danger. 

'  27.  This  day  arrived  at  Ranee-gunge,  where  we  spent  the 
evening,  and  had  a  little  discourse  with  a  Brahmun,  about 
spiritual  things  ;  but  I  have  only  deadness  and  coldness  my- 
self; my  soul  is  like  the  heath  in  the  desert,  which  withereth 
before  its  beauty  appears,  and  is  scarcely  profitable  for  any 
thing. 

'  This  day  a  buffalo  stood  in  the  river  ;  and,  as  the  men  dare 
not  pass  it,  Mr.  Thomas  shot  at  it ;  but,  though  three  or  four 
bullets  entered  his  body,  and  tlie  blood  ran  very  copiously,  he 
got  away. 

'  28.  There  not  being  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  in  the 
river  for  the  pinnace  to  go,  Mr.  Thomas  and  I  left  it,  and  pro- 
ceeded in  a  dinghy,  or  small  boat,  to  Govendagur,  and  intended 
to  have  gone  to  the  mountains  which  part  Bengal  from  Boutan 
or  Thibet ;  but  we  found  here  a  lieutenant  Sloane,  who  is 
stationed  with  seventy  seapoys  at  this  place  to  guard  the  fron- 
tier from  the  depredations  of  the  Fakirs,  who  sometimes,  to 
the  number  of  some  thousands,  lay  waste  a  considerable  part 
of  the  country.  It  is  but  a  little  time  since  they  attacked  a 
factory  under  Mr.  Udney's  care,  but  far  from  his  residence, 
and  robbed  it  of  property  to  a  very  considerable  amount. 
We  spent  the  afternoon  with  this  officer ;  but  a  very  unpleas- 
ant one  it  was.  I  am  sure  an  eternity  with  such  as  he,  would 
be  a  hell  indeed  to  me.  He  said  that,  owing  to  the  jungles  of 
grass,  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet  high,  which  we  must  pass 
through,  it  will  be  impossible  for  us  to  get  there  at  this  season  ; 
and  that,  as  the  water  was  rapidly  decreasing,  we  should  run 
13* 


138  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

a  great  hazard  of  leaving  the  pinnace  behind  us  for  want  of 
water.  He  said  that  we  were  about  forty  coss,  or  seventy 
miles,  from  the  highest  mountains. 

'29.  Returned  to  Ranee-gunge,  and  spent  the  afternoon 
there.  Mr.  Thomas  was  the  greatest  part  of  the  day  trying  to 
kill  a  buffalo ;  but  though  he  had  three  or  four  bullets  in  his 
body,  and  one  in  his  head,  he  got  away.  They  are  amazing 
animals ;  I  believe  it  was  six  feet  from  tip  to  tip  of  his  horns ; 
and  the  largest  ox  in  England  is  a  small  creature  when  com- 
pared to  one  of  them.  There  are  two  kinds,  one  much  smaller 
than  this.  Tliey  are  very  destructive  to  the  rice-fields, — very 
sluggish ;  but,  when  enraged,  so  swift  that  it  is  impossible  to 
escape  them  on  a  very  good  horse.  I  was  in  great  fear  for 
Mr.  Thomas  for  some  hours,  not  seeing  or  hearing  any  thing 
of  him  ;  for,  as  I  am  no  hunter,  I  staid  at  the  boat.  He  at  last, 
however,  came  safe,  to  my  great  joy. 

'  This  day  my  soul  was  somewhat  revived,  and  I  felt  some 
desires  after  God. 

'  30.  Came  down  to  Corneigh,  a  pretty  large  place ;  went 
to  look  at  two  temples  of  Seeb,  which  were  built  by  the  Rajah 
and  Ranee,  or  the  king  and  queen  of  Dinagepore.  They  are 
elevated,  and  you  ascend  several  steps  to  go  to  them.  On 
these  steps  Mr.  Thomas  preached  to  a  pretty  large  concourse 
of  people,  who  heard  the  word  with  great  attention. 

'31.  Arrived  at  Moypaldiggy,  at  Mr.  Thomas's  house,  about 
nine  this  evening.  This  has  been  a  somewhat  more  profitable 
day  than  many  heretofore.  I  feel  that  God  is  my  portion,  and 
then  I  feel  that  I  desire  no  other.  O  that  he  would  give  me 
grace  to  live  to  his  glory,  and  spend  my  strength  in  his  service ! 
If  I  could  but  always  view  his  excellency  and  all-sufficiency, 
then  his  work  must  be  delightful  and  pleasant,  and  all  suffering 
for  his  sake  easy. 

'  Nov.  3,  4.  Returned  to  Mudnabatty,  where  I  arrived  early 
on  Tuesday  morning.  Feel  in  some  measure  humbled  before 
God  under  a  sense  of  my  own  unprofitableness,  yet  am  not 
without  hope  that  the  Lord  may  soon  work.  Mounshi  has 
been  very  ill  for  three  months  with  the  fever,  so  that  I  could 
scarcely  derive  any  benefit  from  him,  and  as  an  assistant  in 
preaching,  none  at  all.  I  am  therefore  prevented  from  much 
discourse  with  the  natives ;  for  though  I  €an  discourse  a  little, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY.  139 

yet  not  long  together  ;  and  when  they  say  much,  I  find  it  dif- 
ficult to  understand  it ;  for  by  ignorance  of  one  or  two  words, 
or  peculiarities  of  construction,  the  thread  of  the  discourse  is 
broken,  and  rendered  unintelligible  to  me  in  a  great  measure. 
May  God  give  me  wisdom,  and  a  spirit  of  application,  till  all 
these  difficulties  are  overcome ! 

'  5.  Set  out  to  Malda,  where  I  staid  till  the  10th.  Had 
some  return  of  the  fever,  but  preached  twice  on  the  Lord's 
day,  though  very  weak  and  full  of  pain.  The  congregation 
appeared  very  serious ;  but  I  did  not  perceive  that  affection, 
either  in  myself  or  the  audience,  that  I  have  seen  at  some 
other  times.  The  interval  spent  at  this  place  was  very  agree- 
ably filled  up,  and,  I  trust,  with  profit  and  pleasure  on  all  sides. 
Mr.  Udney  signified  his  wish  for  me  to  remove  to  Sadamaht, 
as  a  more  healthy  place,  and  to  go  up  immediately  and  try  to 
get  a  pottah*  for  land  of  the  Rajah:  he  seems  desirous  to 
abandon  Mudnabatty. 

'  14,  15.  Journeyed  with  my  family  to  Moypaldiggy,  where 
I  left  them,  having  received  an  intimation  from  Mr.  Udney 
that  he  intended  to  improve  Mudnabatty  yet  more,  and  that  I 
must  return  from  Sadamaht  as  soon  as  the  pottah  was  obtained, 
to  superintend  those  improvements.  So  now  I  am  all  un- 
certainty and  doubt,  and  know  not  which  place  I  am  to  be  at. 
O  !  I  long  to  be  settled ;  but  God  does  not  see  proper.  Yet  I 
feel  a  calm  pleasure  in  waiting  the  will  of  God. 

'17.  Was  detained  in  fitting  up  dinghies  f  to  go  the  rest  of 
the  journey,  there  not  being  water  for  the  pinnace  to  proceed 
further.  Found  this  a  day  of  hurry  and  business,  and  was 
much  fatigued  at  night,  yet  had  some  desires  after  God. 

'  22.  Was  much  busied  in  surveying  the  country,  and  set- 
tling for  my  stay  in  this  place.  Found  my  heart  much  carried 
away  with  the  business  of  the  world,  and  had  only  wretched- 
ness to  mourn  over. 

'23.  A  solitary  Sabbath.  In  the  afternoon  tried  to  preach 
to  the  people  who  were  with  me,  but  could  not  even  fix  their 
attention.  They  seemed  shockingly  unconcerned,  and  were 
all  the  time  gazing  about  upon  the  objects  around  them.  Was 
grieved  with  their  inattention,  yet  felt  a  pleasure  that  I  had 

*  Agreement.  f  Small  boats. 


140  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

addressed  them  upon  the  great  concerns  of  another  world. 
Besides,  I  know  that  God  can  bless  that  which  we  are  most 
wretched  in  delivering,  and  which  is  the  weakest  attempt. 

'  Dec.  1 — 4.  Continued  at  the  same  place,  and  with  much 
the  same  frame  of  mind.  My  fever  was  also  comfortably  re- 
moved by  taking  bark ;  and  on  the  last  of  these  days  1  left 
Sadamaht  without  obtaining  the  object  for  which  1  went 
thither.  Arrived  at  a  place  called  Aslabad,  and  spent  the  night 
there. 

'  6.  Left  Moypal,  and  arrived  at  Mudnabatty.  Blessed  be 
God  for  preserving  me  during  this  journey,  which  cannot  be 
less  than  two  hundred  miles  by  water,  though  not  more  than 
eighty  by  land.  Feel  thankful  to  God  for  his  great  goodness  in 
providence  to  me. 

'  7.  This  morning  felt  somewhat  barren,  but  in  the  evening 
had  much  pleasure  and  freedom  in  preaching  to  the  natives  at 
Mudnabatty.  These  were  more  attentive  also  than  those  at 
Sadamaht,  and  I  doubt  not  but  God  has  a  work  to  do  here.  It 
has  been  his  general  way  to  begin  among  the  poor  and  de- 
spised, and  to  pass  by  those  who  imagine  themselves  to  be 
wise  ;  but  here  we  have  only  poor  and  illiterate  people,  and 
scarcely  any  pf  those  who  value  themselves  on  account  of  being 
the  higher  caste. 

'  8.  Having  been  so  long  from  home,  I  was  busied  very  much 
in  settling  my  books,  and  in  giving  directions  for  several  new 
works  which  will  be  necessary  to  be  made,  on  account  of  the 
very  great  increase  of  business  for  next  year :  but  though  I 
mourn  want  of  retirement,  yet  1  feel  happy  in  being  at  home 
and  in  my  work.  On  Lord's  day,  the  13th,  preached  to  the 
natives  of  another  village,  who  were  very  attentive,  and  raised 
my  expectations  very  much.  On  the  last  of  these  days  set 
out  for  Malda,  with  my  family,  to  spend  the  Christmas 
with  Mr.  Udney  and  other  European  friends  who  are  met 
together  there.     x'Vrrived  at  Bomangsthak  in  the  evening. 

'  19,  20.  Journeying  to  Malda ;  my  mind  as  full  of  wretched- 
ness as  I  can  think  of;  but  principally  from  outward  causes, 
which  are  like  a  shower  of  the  fiery  darts  of  the  enemy.  Ar- 
rived in  the  evening,  and  ^vas  much  refreshed  and  relieved  by 
the  conversation  of  Christian  friends. 

'  21.     Preached  in  the  morning  from  Heb.  vi,  18, '  That  by 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  141 

two  immutable  things,  in  which  it  was  impossible  for  God  to 
lie,  we  might  have  strong  consolation,'  &c.  Dwelt  much  on 
this,  that  it  is  the  will  of  God  that  his  saints  should  have  strong 
consolation.  In  the  evening  preached  from  Jude  24,  '  Now  unto 
him  who  is  able  to  keep  us,'  «&c.  Myself  and  the  whole  con- 
gregation were  much  edified,  I  hope ;  and  the  word  seemed  to 
take  good  effect. 

'  22 — 31.  Spent  this  time  at  Malda  in  very  agreeable  society. 
Preached  on  Christmas  day,  and  twice  on  Lord's  day,  the  28th ; 
and  I  think  I  may  say  with  truth,  that  the  whole  of  this  time 
was  a  time  of  real  refreshing  to  my  soul,  which  had  long  been 
in  a  barren  and  languid  state.  O  that  I  could  indeed  praise  the 
Lord  for  his  goodness  towards  me !  On  the  last  of  these  days 
left  Malda  to  return  home ;  and  towards  night,  met  Mr. 
Thomas  and  his  family  going  down  to  begin  the  new  year 
at  Malda.  I  have  gone  through  many  changes  this  year; 
but  how  much  has  the  goodness  of  God  exceeded  my  ex- 
pectations ! 

'1795.  Jan.  1 — 15.  Much  cause  to  complain  of  want  of 
spirituality,  and  really  have  not  had  time  to  write  my  diary, 
having  between  four  and  five  hundred  men's  labor  to  direct. 
On  the  Lord's  day  I  have  preached  to  the  natives  in  the 
surrounding  villages,  and  I  hope  not  without  some  good  effect; 
the  Mussulmans  of  one  village  having  appeared  much  struck 
with  the  word,  and  promised  to  cast  off  their  superstitions. 
Last  Lord's  day  they  continued  in  the  same  resolution,  and 
were  joined  in  it  by  several  others  who  had  not  heard  the  word 
before.  Yesterday  1  was  much  dejected  on  finding  that  one  of 
our  workmen,  a  bricklayer,  had  almost  made  an  idol  of  the 
same  kind  as  that  mentioned  in  my  journal  of  Feb.  4,  last  year, 
Sorosuadi,  the  patroness  of  learning,  and  which  was  to  be  con- 
secrated on  the  4th  of  Feb.  following.  I  might  have  used 
authority,  and  have  forbidden  it ;  but  thought  this  would  be 
persecution.  I  therefore  talked  seriously  with  the  man  to-day, 
and  tried  to  convince  him  of  the  sinfulness  of  such  a  thing,  as 
well  as  its  foolishness ;  when  he  acquiesced  in  all  I  said,  and 
promised  to  throw  his  work  away;  so  that  I  hope  the  idol  will 
be  put  an  end  to  here.  O  may  God  turn  them  from  idols  to 
himself! 

'  16.     Had  much  to  struggle  with  outwardly  and  inwardly. 


14  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

Have  great  reason  to  complain  that  there  are  not  more  and 
stronger  struggles.  O  that  I  were  but  more  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ !  This  would  make  sin  a  burden  to  me,  and  earthly 
things  light ;  but  I  am  a  poor,  unfeeling,  and  ungrateful  wretch 
towards  God,  and  much  under  the  deception  of  living  to  my- 
self: yet  I  know  that  this  is  diametrically  opposite  to  the  spu'it 
of  Christ. 

'  17.  In  the  morning  was  in  the  same  wretched  state  as 
yesterday ;  but  in  the  afternoon  Mr.  Thomas  came.  I  trust  his 
spiritual  conversation  was  blessed,  and  served  to  arouse  my 
drowsy  soul  in  some  degree.  Had  some  reviving  in  prayer 
with  him,  and  feel  that  as  iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  doth  the 
countenance  of  a  man  his  friend. 

'  18.  Bless  God  for  this  day.  I  trust  my  soul  has  been 
quickened  in  it.  In  the  morning  read  part  of  Flavel  on  Prov- 
idence, which  was  truly  refreshing.  In  the  afternoon  Mr. 
Thomas  preached  with  much  affection  to  a  company  of  Hindus, 
who  were  met  to  sacrifice  to  the  sun.  This  is  a  species  of 
idolatry  in  which  both  Hindus  and  Mussulmans  unite,  and  is 
peculiar  to  this  part  of  the  country.  Plantains  and  sweetmeats 
were  brought  by  the  women,  and  exposed  opposite  to  the  set- 
ting sun,  while  singing  and  music  were  performed.  Just  be- 
fore the  sun  set,  the  women  placed  pots  of  burning  coals  on 
their  heads,  which  were  so  made  as  not  to  burn  them,  and 
walked  round  the  offering  several  times,  which  ended  the 
sacrifice.  Many  left  the  sacrifice  and  discoursed  all  the  way 
home  about  the  things  of  God.  We  formed  a  plan  for  setting 
up  two  colleges,  for  the  education  of  twelve  youths  in  each.  I 
had  some  months  ago  set  up  a  school,  but  the  poverty  of  the 
natives  caused  them  fi-equently  to  take  their  children  to  work. 
To  prevent  this,  we  intend  to  clothe  and  feed  them,  and  educate 
them  for  seven  years  in  Sanscrit,  Persian,  «fec. ;  and  particularly 
to  introduce  the  study  of  the  holy  Scriptures  and  useful  sciences 
therein.  We  intend  also  to  order  types  from  England  at  our 
own  expense,  and  print  the  Bible,  and  other  useful  things,  in 
the  Bengal  or  Hindostani  languages.  We  have  reason,  indeed, 
to  be  very  thankful  to  God  for  his  kind  providence,  which  en- 
ables us  to  lay  out  any  thing  for  him.  May  our  hearts  be 
always  ready ! 

'  20.     Blessed  be  God  for  a  continuance  of  calm  sweetness ! 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  143 

This  being  a  season  in  which  idolatrous  worship  is  most  com- 
mon, I  have  frequent  occasion  to  warn  the  people  against  it. 
To-day  an  idol,  Kally,  was  made  in  the  neighborhood.  Had 
some  conversation  with  some  natives  on  the  great  wickedness 
of  idolatry. 

'21.  Much  barrenness,  but  some  sweet  pleasure  in  the 
things  of  God.  Had  another  opportunity  of  pressing  the  neces- 
sity of  obtaining  pardon  from  God  for  their  idolatry  and  other 
sins.     Was  enabled  to  be  serious  and  faithful. 

'  22.  I  have  continual  reason  to  complain  on  account  of  the 
barrenness  of  my  soul  towards  God.  Surely  no  one  who  has 
received  such  uncommon  favors  can  be  so  ungrateful  as  my- 
self I  have  need  of  more  spiritual  life,  and  a  more  evangelical 
turn  of  mind.  I  want  true  faith,  and  in  a  great  degree  ;  and  I 
have  great  need  of  an  aptness  or  readiness  to  teach.  Lideed, 
I  always  was  very  defective  in  this ;  and  now  I  need  more  of 
this  spirit  than  ever  I  did  in  my  life.  I  have  often  thought,  on 
this  very  account,  that  I  never  was  fit  for  the  gospel  ministry ; 
but  how  much  less  fit  for  the  work  of  a  missionary  among  the 
heathen.  O  may  God  give  me  his  Holy  Spirit,  to  furnish  me 
for  every  good  work! 

'23.  Still  barren.  O!  if  I  did  but  see  and  feel  any  thing! 
Better  feel  the  severest  pangs  of  spirit  on  this  side  hell,  than 
live  from  one  day  to  another  in  this  most  wretched,  unfeeling 
state.  If  I  felt  the  weight  of  sin,  shame  for  it,  resolutions 
against  it,  or  any  thing  else,  it  would  be  much  better  than  the 
miserable  state  that  I  now  am  in.  O  Lord,  I  beseech  thee,  de- 
liver my  soul. 

'  25.  I  bless  God  for  some  little  revival  of  soul,  and  pleasure 
in  his  work.  This  was  the  day  for  the  worship  of  the  patron- 
ess of  literature.  The  idol  was  prepared  near  the  place  where 
I  live.  In  the  morning  I  was  enabled  to  speak  feelingly  to  two 
or  three  people  about  the  sinfulness  of  idolatry,  and  was 
determined  to  go  and  preach  to  them  in  the  evening,  when  the 
offering  would  be  at  its  height.  I  accordingly  went ;  and  after 
asking  what  that  thing  was,  the  Brahmun,  who  attended  the 
offering,  said  it  was  God.  I  said,  pray  did  that  make  men,  or 
men  make  that  ?  He  confessed  that  it  was  made  by  men.  I 
then  asked  him  how  many  gods  there  were  ?  He  said,  one. 
I  inquired  who  made  the  world  ?     He  said,  Brahmah.     I  asked 


144  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

whether  he  was  God  ?  He  said,  yes.  Then,  said  I,  there  may 
be  a  lack,  or  100,000  gods,  at  this  rate.  He  then  said,  that  he 
did  according  to  his  faith,  and  that  the  Shastra  commanded 
this.  I  inquired  what  Shastra  ?  He  said,  the  Byacorran.  I 
said,  that  Shastra  is  only  a  Sanscrit  grammar,  and  commands 
no  such  thing;  have  you  read  it  ?  He  acknowledged  that  he 
had  not.  Then,  said  I,  you  can  have  no  faith  about  the  matter ; 
for  faith  is  believing  some  words ;  but  this  thing  cannot  speak, 
and  the  Shastra  you  have  never  read.  He  then  said,  that  it 
was  ^he  custom  of  the  country.  Said  I,  are  all  the  customs  of 
this  country  good !  He  said,  yes.  I  asked  whether  the  custom 
of  thieves,  to  steal  and  murder,  was  good ;  and,  said  I,  it  is  a 
common  custom  in  this  country  to  tell  lies,  so  that  you  will 
not  find  one  man  in  a  thousand  who  does  not  make  lying  his 
constant  practice :  is  this  a  good  custom  ?  Is  whoredom  a 
good  custom?  He  was  quite  stunned  with  this,  but  presently 
said  that  his  ancestors  had  always  done  so.  I  inquired  whether 
there  was  a  heaven  and  a  hell  ?  He  said,  yes.  Then,  said  I, 
how  do  you  know  but  they  are  gone  to  hell  ?  He  inquired 
why  God  sent  the  Shastras,  if  they  were  not  to  be  observed. 
I  answered,  how  do  you  know  that  God  sent  the  Hindu 
Shastras  ?  Did  he  send  the  Mussulmans'  Koran  also  ?  He 
answered,  that  God  had  created  both  Hindus  and  Mussulmans, 
and  had  given  them  different  ways  of  life.  I  said,  then  God 
could  neither  be  wise  nor  unchangeable  to  do  so,  and  that  all 
such  foolish  worship  was  unworthy  of  either  God  or  men.  I 
then  took  an  opportunity  of  pointing  out  the  justice  of  God, 
and  the  gospel  way  of  salvation  by  Christ,  and  then  entreated 
the  people  to  cast  away  those  fooleries,  and  seek  pardon 
through  the  blood  of  Christ ;  for,  said  I,  you  see  your  Brahmun 
is  dumb;  he  can  say  nothing.  If  he  can  defend  his  cause,  let 
him  speak  now;  but  you  hear  that  he  cannot  tell  whether  this 
thing  is  God,  or  man,  or  woman,  or  tiger,  or  jackal.  I  felt  a 
sweetness  and  great  affection  for  them  in  my  own  soul,  and 
was  enabled  to  speak  from  the  heart ;  and  God  assisted  me 
much,  so  that  I  spoke  in  Bengali  for  nearly  half  an  hour  with- 
out intermission,  so  as  to  be  understood,  and  much  more  than 
ever  before.  Blessed  be  God  for  this  assistance.  O  that  I  may 
see  the  good  fruits  of  it,  and  that  God  may  bless  it  for  their 
eternal  good !     As  to  the  people,  they  care  just  as  much  for 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  145 

their  idol  as  carnal  men  in  England  do  for  Christ  at  Christmas: 
a  good  feast  and  a  holiday  is  all  in  all  with  them  both.  I  ob- 
served before,  that  this  idol  is  worshipped  on  the  4th  of  Febru- 
ary ;  but  now  find  that  it  is  regulated  by  the  time  of  the  moon, 
like  English  easter. 

'  26.  Had  some  longing  of  soul  for  the  conversion  of  the 
poor  natives,  and  an  opportunity  of  discoursing  to  some  of 
them  upon  the  danger  of  their  state,  and  the  evil  of  their  prac- 
tice;  but  was  in  my  own  soul  barren,  and  had  little  com- 
munion with  God,  consequently  but  little  of  the  enjoyment  of 
true  godliness. 

'  27.  Was  employed  considerable  part  of  the  day  in  detecting 
a  cheat  practised  by  one  of  the  overseers  of  the  works,  and  am 
obliged  to  discharge  him.  These  dishonest  tricks  are  so  com- 
mon with  them,  that  they  play  them  without  a  blush.  O  that 
God  would  make  the  gospel  successful  among  them !  This 
would  undoubtedly  make  them  honest  men  ;  and  I  fear  nothing 
else  will. 

'  28.  Some  little  enjoyment  in  prayer.  I  find  it  a  blessed 
thing  to  feel  the  plague  of  my  own  heart  and  my  spiritual 
wants  in  any  measure  ;  then,  it  is  a  pleasing,  though  a  melting^ 
sorrowful  enjoyment,  to  pour  out  the  soul  to  God.  O  that  I 
had  this  spirit  of  prayer  at  all  times !  But,  alas,  I  soon  lose  all 
that  is  good. 

'  Much  engaged  in  writing,  having  begun  to  write  letters  to 
Europe ;  but  having  received  none,  I  feel  that  hope  deferred 
makes  the  heart  sick.  However,  I  am  so  fully  satisfied  of  the 
firmness  of  their  friendship,  that  I  feel  a  sweet  pleasure  in 
writing  to  them,  though  rather  of  a  forlorn  kind ;  and  having 
nothing  but  myself  to  write  about,  feel  the  awkwardness  of 
being  an  egotist.  I  feel  a  social  spirit,  though  barred  from 
society. 

'  30.  My  great  crime  is  neglect  of  God,  and  a  spiritual 
stupidity.  I  always  am  best  pleased  when  I  feel  most,  but  live 
from  one  day  to  another  without  seeing  or  feeling  to  any  con- 
siderable degree.  I  am  sure  that  my  deadness  and  stupidity, 
want  of  a  spirit  to  admire  God,  and  honor  him,  is  the  very  re- 
verse to  that  of  Christianity.  O  may  God  make  me  a  true 
Christian ! 

14 


146  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

'  31.  Mercy  has  brought  me  through  another  month.  Many 
mercies  have  been  received  from  God,  and  many  evils  warded 
off:  blessed  be  his  holy  name !  But  this  day  has  increased 
the  measure  of  my  ingratitude  and  neglect.  O  that  I  had 
much  faith  and  grace,  and  more  of  the  meek  and  lowly  spirit 
of  God ! 

'  Feb.  1.  Through  the  day  had  not  much  enjoyment.  Yet 
I  bless  God  for  any.  My  soul  is  prone  to  barrenness,  and  I 
have  every  day  reason  to  mourn  over  the  dreadful  stupidity  of 
my  nature,  and  the  wickedness  of  my  heart,  so  that  I  need 
daily  cultivation  from  the  hand  of  God,  and  from  all  the  means 
of  grace.  Had  a  little  liberty  in  addressing  the  natives ;  but 
was  for  some  time  much  dejected, — seeing  them  inattentive, 
and  afterwards  putting  all  the  quirking  questions  they  could 
think  of  I  was,  however,  enabled  to  be  faithful,  and  at  last 
God  seemed  a  little  more  to  fix  their  attention,  and  they  de- 
sired me  to  set  up  a  weekly  meeting  to  read  the  Bible  to  them, 
and  to  expound  the  word. 

'2.  Had  a  miserable  day;  sorely  harassed  from  with- 
out, and  very  cold  and  dead  in  my  soul.  I  could  bear  all 
outward  trials  if  I  had  but  more  of  the  spirit  of  God. 

'  3.  This  is  indeed  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  to 
me,  except  that  my  soul  is  much  more  insensible  than  John 
Bunyan's  Pilgrim.  O !  what  would  I  give  for  a  kind  sympa- 
thetic friend,  such  as  I  had  in  England,  to  whom  I  might  open 
my  heart !  But  I  rejoice  that  I  am  here,  notwithstanding ;  and 
God  is  here,  who  not  only  can  have  compassion,  but  is  able  to 
save  to  the  uttermost. 

'4.  I  believe  my  fault  is  this:  magnifying  every  trouble,  and 
forgetting  the  multitude  of  mercies  that  I  am  daily  loaded 
with.  I  have  been  reading  Flavel  on  Providence,  lately ;  but 
under  every  new  shadow  of  a  trial  I  find  myself  to  be  a  iearn- 
er,  and  even  to  have  made  no  new  advances  in  the  necessary 
science  of  improving  all  mercies  to  promote  thankfulness,  and 
all  trials  to  promote  patience. 

'  5.  O  what  a  load  is  a  barren  heart !  I  feel  a  little  forlorn 
pleasure  in  thinking  over  the  time  that  is  past,  and  drown 
some  of  my  heaviness  by  writing  to  my  friends  in  England, 
and  some  by  going  about  the  various  works  carrying  on  here  ; 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  147 

but  the  only  effectual  way  is  to  cast  it  upon  God :  this  I  feel 
such  a  backwardness  to,  that  the  load  is  rendered  much 
heavier  by  the  consideration. 

'  6.  I  sometimes  walk  in  my  garden,  and  try  to  pray  to  God ; 
and  if  I  pray  at  all,  it  is  in  the  solitude  of  a  walk.  I  thought 
my  soul  a  little  drawn  out  to-day,  but  soon  gross  darkness  re- 
turned. Spoke  a  word  or  two  to  a  Mahomedan  upon  the 
things  of  God,  but  I  feel  to  be  as  bad  as  they. 

'  7.  O  that  this  day  could  be  consigned  to  oblivion  !  What 
a  mixture  of  impatience,  carelessness,  forgetfulness  of  God, 
pride,  and  peevishness  have  I  felt!     God  forgive  me ! 

'  8.  I  had  more  enjoyment  to-day  than  for  many  days  past. 
Had  two  pleasing  opportunities,  and  felt  my  heart  encouraged. 
Went  to  a  village  called  Maddabatty  to  preach  to  the  natives, 
but  found  very  few.  I  felt  much  for  them,  but  had  not  the 
freedom  I  wished :  yet  I  know  God  can  bless  a  weak  attempt. 

'9 — 14.  I  cannot  say  any  thing  this  week,  except  proclaim 
my  own  shame.  I  think  that  it  is  a  wonder  indeed  that  the 
goodness  of  God  endureth  yet  daily. 

'  15.  This  day  had  some  little  reviving.  Preached  in  the 
evening  to  a  pretty  large  assembly  of  the  natives ;  but  when  I 
told  them  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  they  said  they  had 
never  heard  of  that  before  this  day.  They  told  me  they 
wanted  instruction,  and  desired  me  to  instruct  them  upon  the 
Lord's  days. 

'  16.  Had  some  little  continuance  of  yesterday's  frame.  I 
ardently  wish  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  and  long  for 
more  frequent  opportunities  of  addressing  them;  but  their 
poverty  requires  them  to  labor  from  sun-rise  to  sun-set.  I 
have  opportunities  of  privately  instructing  them  very  frequent- 
ly.    O  may  I  never  want  a  heart  to  do  so ! 

'  17.     I  have  to  complain  of  abundance  of  pride,  which  I 

find  it  necessary  to  oppose,  and  the  more  as is  always 

blaming  me  for  putting  myself  on  a  level  with  the  natives.  I 
have  much  to  conflict  with  on  this  score,  both  without  and 
within.  I  need  the  united  prayers  of  all  the  people  of  God, 
and  O  that  I  had  but  the  spirit  to  pray  more  for  myself! 

'  19.  Have  reason  to  be  thankful  for  any  degree  of  enjoy- 
ment of  God.  My  soul  is  so  much  swallowed  up  in  its  own 
indolence  and  stupidity,  that  I  have  scarcely  any  enjoyment  of 


148  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

divine  things,  or  sense  of  my  own  necessities ;  but  from  day 
to  day  the  state  of  my  soul  is  exceedingly  forlorn.  But  to-day 
I  felt  rather  more  inclined  to  God  and  heavenly  things.  All 
this  light,  however,  was  only  like  the  peeping  out  of  the  sun 
for  a  minute  or  two  in  very  rainy  weather,  and  soon  I  felt  my 
gloom  return. 

'20,21.  I  think  I  feel  some  longings  of  soul  after  God;  but 
yet  my  soul  feels  exceeding  solitary  and  comfortless,  and  I 
want  every  thing,  in  my  ow^n  apprehension,  that  belongs  to 
godliness.  I  have  no  zeal,  no  love,  no  aptitude  for  contem- 
plation. 

'22.  A  somewhat  lowering  morning.  Read  a  sermon  of 
Flavel's  on  these  words,  'Now  if  any  man  be  in  Christ,  he  is 
a  new  creature ;'  but  felt  scarcely  any  thing.  In  the  afternoon 
I  was  much  cheered  by  a  considerable  number  of  the  natives 
coming  for  instruction,  and  I  endeavored  to  discourse  with 
them  about  divine  things.  I  told  them  that  all  men  were  sin- 
ners against  God,  and  that  God  was  strictly  just,  and  of  purer 
eyes  than  to  approve  of  sin.  I  endeavored  to  press  this  point, 
and  to  ask  how  they  could  possibly  be  saved  if  this  was  the 
case.  I  tried  to  explain  to  them  the  nature  of  heaven  and 
hell ;  and  told  them  that,  except  our  sins  were  pardoned,  we 
must  go  to  hell.  They  said,  that  would  be  like  the  prisoners 
in  Dinagepore  gaol.  I  said,  no ;  for  in  prison  only  the  body 
could  be  afflicted,  but  in  hell  the  soul ;  that  in  a  year  or  two  a 
prisoner  would  be  released,  but  he  never  would  be  freed  from 
hell ;  that  death  would  release  them  from  prison,  but  in  hell 
they  would  never  die.  I  then  told  them  how  that  God  sent 
his  own  Son  to  save  sinners ;  that  he  came  to  save  them  from 
sin  ;  that  he  died  in  the  sinner's  stead ;  and  that  whosoever  be- 
lieved in  him  would  obtain  everlasting  life,  and  would  become 
holy.  They  said  they  were  all  pleased  with  this,  but  wished 
to  know  what  sin  and  holiness  were.  I  told  them  that  there 
were  sins  of  the  heart,  the  tongue,  and  the  actions ;  but  as  a 
fountain  cast  out  its  waters,  so  all  sin  had  its  source  from  the 
heart ;  and  that  not  to  think  of  God,  not  to  wish  to  do  his  will, 
not  to  regard  his  word,  and  also  pride,  covetousness,  envy,  &c., 
were  great  sins  ;  and  that  evil  and  abusive  language  was  very 
sinful ;  that  not  to  be  strictly  upright  in  their  dealings  was 
very  sinful,     I  told  them  that  God  was  under  no  obligation  to 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  I40 

save  any  man ;  and  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  make  offerings 
to  God  to  obtain  the  pardon  of  sin,  for  God  had  no  need  of 
goats,  kids,  sheep,  &c.,  for  all  these  are  his  at  all  times ;  and 
that  if  God  forgave  them,  it  must  be  from  his  own  will ;  but 
that  he  was  willing  to  save  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ. 
After  this,  part  of  the  5th  chapter  of  Matthew  was  read  by 
Mounshi,  and  explained  to  them,  and  they  went  away  promis- 
ing to  retin-n  next  Lord's  day ;  and  my  spirits  were  much 
revived.  I  am  encouraged  much,  as  this  is  the  beginning  of  a 
congregation,  and  that  they  came  of  their  own  will,  and  de- 
sired to  be  instructed.  They  are  collected  from  the  villages 
where  I  have  preached  before,  and  from  some  where  I  have 
not  been.  Most  of  them,  also,  were  men  of  influence,  being 
Mundals,  or  heads  of  villages.  Their  attention  was  very 
great,  and  their  questions  serious  and  pertinent;  and  had  I  a 
greater  command  of  their  language,  I  might  be  able  to  convey 
much  instruction  to  them.  They,  however,  understood  what 
was  delivered.  Another  pleasing  circumstance  is,  that  they 
already  remember  some  religious  terms,  as  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  his  mission,  with  its  design,  and  the  necessity  of 
pardon  in  order  to  salvation.  They  have  a  word  for  heart,  as 
the  seat  of  the  affections,  viz.,  untuccura ;  but  here  it  is  not 
understood  ;  so  that  when  I  speak  of  sin  coming  from  the 
heart,  I  am  forced  to  use  the  word  dele,  which  only  signifies 
the  heart  as  a  part  of  the  body,  and  means  a  sheep's  heart  as 
well  as  a  man's  heart.  Much  circumlocution  is  therefore 
necessary ;  but  God's  cause,  I  doubt  not,  will  triumph  over  all 
obstacles  soon.' 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  a  missionary  has  to  encoun- 
ter, especially  during  the  two  or  three  first  years  of  his  work, 
arises  from  the  poverty  and  perversion  of  language.  In  com- 
municating ideas  upon  spiritual  subjects,  it  is  hard  to  find  a 
corresponding  word  with  the  one  with  which  he  is  familiar^ 
This  is  felt  severely  in  a  rural  district,  and  where  the  popula- 
tion is  degraded,  such  as  that  was  amongst  which  Mr.  Carey 
and  his  colleague  were  now  settled.  They  must  have  been 
ignorant,  however,  beyond  what  it  is  common  for  the  i)oorest 
of  the  inhabitants  to  be  in  towns  and  cities.  For  it  is  certain, 
you  may  always  find,  in  fair  Bengali,  words  such  as  all  under- 
stand and  speak,  for  '  heart,  love,'  &c. ;  and  though  there  is  no 
14* 


150  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

single  word  answering  to  our  single  word  '  conscience,'  yet, 
by  the  slight  periphrasis  of  only  two  or  three  words,  as  '  the 
knowledge  or  judgment  of  good  and  evil,'  we  express  the 
idea,  perhaps,  more  satisfactorily  than  could  be  done  by  a 
single  word,  as  by  our  word  conscience,  had  it  not  been  that 
its  long  conventional  use  had  sufficiently  appropriated  it  to  a 
specific  moral  purpose. 

But  a  missionary  finds  far  greater  hindrance  to  his  work 
from  the  metaphysical  and  idolatrous  use  of  language,  than 
simply  from  paucity  of  words.  The  former  has  restricted  all 
the  terms  applicable  to  intellectual  and  spiritual  subjects  to 
mere  abstractions  and  subtle  speculation.  And  to  disengage 
them  from  their  long  philosophical  application,  and  appropri- 
ate them  to  a  simple,  popular,  and  religious  use,  is  a  work  of 
time  and  labor.  By  the  Hindu  system,  the  Supreme  Essence 
is  itself  merely  an  abstraction,  an  ideal  existence,  without 
positive  attributes,  natural  or  moral,  a  mere  figment  of  the 
imagination.  And  yet  this  mere  metaphysical  abstraction,  this 
essential  'nihil,'  is  the  primordial  of  all  mind,  and  of  all 
spiritual  existence  in  the  universe :  besides  it,  indeed,  there  is 
no  mind,  no  sj)irit,  no  mover,  no  cause,  no  final  end.  It  per- 
vades every  thing,  it  contains  every  thing,  nay,  it  is  itself 
every  thing,  and  every  thing  is  it,  whether  on  earth,  or  in  the 
lowest  hell,  or  in  the  highest  heaven.  And,  again,  since  there 
is  strictly  but  one  doer  of  all  things,  all  spontaneous  agency 
and  all  accountability  are  annihilated ;  and  all  distinction  in 
morals  is  lost,  and  only  tolerated  in  discourse  as  a  vulgar 
absurdity.  The  contact  and  union  of  mind  with  matter,  ani- 
mal or  otherwise  sensitive,  throughout  the  universe,  with  all 
its  agencies  and  susceptibilities  of  pleasure  and  pain,  yea,  and 
with  all  we  understand  by  virtue  and  vice,  and  their  retribu- 
tions through  the  horrors  and  all  but  interminable  mazes  of 
metempsychosis  or  transmigration  of  souls ;  all  are  illusion  in 
the  estimation  of  an  oriental  philosopher  and  religious  devotee, 
whose  ultimate  and  only  proper  good  is  in  the  loss  of  their 
identical  existence  in  final  absorption.  Hence,  with  them,  all 
things  are  involved  in  a  circle  which  nothing  can  dissolve,  and 
from  which  no  power  on  earth  can  move  them. 

So  extremely,  also,  have  poetry  and  the  popular  idolatry 
combined  to  poison  the  current  of  human  thought,  that  no 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  151 

religious  conception  is  ever  formed  apart  from  the  fictitious 
and  the  monstrous ;  and  so  effectually  have  they  abused  and 
perverted  the  use  of  language,  that  scarcely  a  single  w^ord  can 
be  safely  used  M^ithout  periphrasis.  Neither  God,  nor  holiness, 
nor  heaven,  nor  hell,  nor  sin,  nor  any  other  word  M^ithin  the 
compass  of  religious  phraseology,  can  convey  any  just  impres- 
sion to  the  mind  of  a  Hindu,  without  explanation ;  his  idolatry 
having  invested  every  possible  term  with  something  fabulous 
and  alien  from  truth.  There  is,  indeed,  no  language  in  the 
world  which  idolatry  has  not  profaned.  The  English  is 
scarcely  purged  from  it  to  this  day,  though  many  generations 
have  passed  since  heathenism  was  professedly  renounced. 
Hence  the  frequent  use  of  the  words  'fortune,  fate,  muse, 
nature,'  and  many  others ;  not  merely  by  poets,  but  by  other 
writers ;  and,  in  common  conversation,  not  shunned  by  some 
who  would  think  it  hard  not  to  be  deemed  Christians.* 

Journal  continued. 

'  23.  I  felt  some  encouragement  through  this  day,  arising 
from  the  circumstance  of  the  people  coming  yesterday  for 
instruction,  and  was  enabled  to  plead  with  God  for  them.  I 
long  for  their  deliverance  from  their  miserable  state  on  two 
accounts ;  principally,  because  I  see  God  daily  dishonored,  and 
them  drowned  in  sensuality,  ignorance,  and  superstition ;  and, 
likewise,  because  I  think  that  news  of  the  conversion  of  some 
of  them  would  much  encourage  the  society,  and  excite  them 
to  double  their  efforts  in  other  places  for  the  propagation  of 
the  glorious  gospel. 

'  24,  25.  I  think  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  on  earth  is 
Christian  society ;  for  if  one  becomes  somewhat  dull,  conver- 
sation serves  to  enliven  his  spirits,  and  to  prompt  him  on  in 
godliness.  I  have  but  little  of  this  help,  and,  to  my  sorrow, 
often  fall  when  I  have  not  one  at  hand  to  lift  me  up  again.  I 
think  my  peevishness,  fretfulness,  and  impatience  is  astonish- 

*  See  some  excellent  strictures  upon  this  subject,  in  Mr,  Hum's  'Reasons  for 
Secession,'  p.  289,  and  onward;  where  the  influence  of  polytheism  upon  the  litera- 
ture and  language  of  this  country  is  stated  with  great  force.  The  work  throughout 
is  pregnant  with  sound  sense  and  deep  seriousness ;  and  exhibits  a  mass  of  informa- 
tion upon  painfully  controverted  subjects,  without  a  bitter  or  provoking  sentence. 


152  MEMOIR   OF   DR.  CAREY. 

ing.  O  that  the  grace  of  God  might  but  be  in  me,  and 
abomid !' 

A  missionary  living  among  the  heathen  is  shut  up  to  his 
own  resources.  His  feelings,  his  objects,  his  labors  are  known 
and  appreciated  by  no  human  creature.  In  the  midst  of  a 
teeming  population,  he  lives  a  solitary  life.  It  w^ould  be  vain 
to  expect  sympathy  from  unconverted  heathens.  Home  and 
friends  are  thought  of  as  far  remote,  to  remain  so,  perhaps,  for 
ever.  Between  his  daily  engagements,  commenced  with  dif- 
ficulty and  persevered  in  with  discom*agement,  and  their  antici- 
pated results,  innumerable  and  mortifying  disappointments 
intervene.  His  faith  and  patience  are  therefore  brought  to 
severe  tests.  Nothing  short  of  a  constant  recurrence  to  the 
promises  of  God's  word,  and  a  simple  reliance  upon  the 
renewing  agency  of  his  Spirit,  the  principal  subject  of  those 
promises,  can  sustain  the  mind  under  such  circumstances. 

It  is  matter  of  devout  joy  when  the  gospel  is  so  far  success- 
ful as  to  induce  any  to  renounce  idolatry  and  assume  the 
Christian  profession ;  but  the  burden  of  a  missionary  is 
thenceforward  rather  augmented  than  relieved.  He  has  then 
unremittingly  to  watch  the  renewing  process.  He  has  daily 
to  inform  the  ignorant  and  excite  the  torpid  mind,  before  a 
stranger  to  truth  and  righteousness,  and  hitherto  unsus- 
ceptible of  any  impressions  but  such  as  abominable  idolatries 
and  sensible  objects  exert  upon  a  depraved,  feeble,  and  sensual 
nature.  The  errors  which  beset  native  converts,  are  so  nu- 
merous and  insinuating,  and  the  perils  to  which  their  princi- 
ples and  character  are  liable  so  imminent,  that  the  solicitude 
of  a  missionary  on  their  behalf  is  more  painful  than  what  he 
feels  in  making  known  the  truths  of  revelation  to  the 
unthinking  heathen.  The  wisdom  of  our  blessed  Lord  can- 
not be  too  much  admired,  nor  too  scrupulously  imitated,  in 
sending  forth  his  disciples  two  and  two.  This  ought  never  to 
be  disregarded  by  missionary  societies.  It  is  as  important  to 
the  religious  life  and  comfort  of  a  missionary,  as  it  is  conso- 
nant to  his  social  nature.  In  no  case  should  it  be  departed 
from  in  breaking  up  new  ground,  and  in  stations  remote  from 
European  society.  The  mind  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  suffered 
agonies  from  the  desolation  he  felt  in  laboring  and  suffering 
alone.     Few  men,  perhaps,  were  ever  less  dependent  upon 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  153 

the  social  influences  than  was  Mr.  Carey ;  and  few  men  ever 
had  a  yoke-fellow  less  in  accordance  with  their  own  disposi- 
tions and  habits  than  his  was ;  yet  the  society  of  this  Christian 
brother  was  a  refreshment  to  his  spirit,  exceeded  only  by  what 
he  experienced  in  fellowship  with  God,  and  in  anticipating  the 
success  of  his  labors.  But,  when  brethren  are  unavoidably 
insulated,  they  are  the  more  entitled  to  the  sympathies  of  their 
foUow-Christians  and  of  ministers  at  home.  Were  the  mem- 
bers of  the  committees  of  the  various  societies  under  whose 
auspices  they  go  forth,  to  cultivate  their  correspondence,  it 
would  be  a  solace  to  the  missionaries,  and  of  no  small  ad- 
vantage to  the  public.  It  is  not  possible  that  the  executive  of 
the  different  societies  should  fully  perform  so  onerous  a  duty. 
The  unavoidable  secular  details  devolving  upon  secretaries,  in 
receiving  calls,  arranging  for  engagements  in  all  parts  of  the 
empire,  preparing  abstracts  of  labor  and  reports,  watching 
the  pecuniary  interests,  and  attending  public  meetings,  render 
it  necessary  to  confine  their  foreign  communications  princi- 
pally to  matters  of  official  interest.  But  were  the  different 
ministers,  each  one  as  his  convenience  and  predilections  might 
dictate,  to  select  some  one  missionary  as  his  correspondent,  a 
mass  of  various  and  interesting  intelligence  would  be  elicited 
acceptable  to  the  public  mind, — the  hearts  of  the  missionaries 
would  be  cheered  by  such  demonstrations  of  brotherly  esteem, 
and  a  community  of  affection  between  the  laborers  in  the 
different  portions  of  the  Lord's  vineyard  thus  secured  and 
maintained  with  fervor. 

Journal  continued. 

'26.  Rode  to  Moypal  to-day  to  visit  Mr.  Thomas;  found 
him  well,  and  had  some  comfortable  enjoyment  of  his  com- 
pany. We  had  much  conversation,  and  I  hope  it  has  been 
very  profitable  ;  yet  I  feel  distressed  with  the  thought  that  the 
letters  to  be  sent  as  specimens  for  types  will  scarcely  be  ready 
this  season.  It  is  a  considerable  work,  and  requires  much 
care  and  attention. 

'27.  Returned  home  to-day.  On  my  return,  had  an  op- 
portunity of  discoursing  with  some  people  upon  divine  things, 
and  of  telling  them  of  the  danger  that  they  were  in.  Arrived 
at  home  very  poorly,  and  much  tired. 


154  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

'  28.  Very  busy  all  day,  and  engaged  in  the  concerns  of  the 
world ;  yet  not  without  some  desires  after  God  and  goodness. 
What  a  pleasant  life  must  it  be  to  be  quite  devoted  to  him ! 

'  March  1.  Felt  my  mind  somewhat  set  upon  the  things  of 
God,  and  had  some  real  pleasure  in  the  public  exercises  which 
were  engaged  in,  in  my  house,  this  day.  I  felt  a  concern  for 
the  gospel  and  its  spread  in  other  parts,  and  for  the  churches 
and  ministers  of  my  acquaintance.  I  was  in  hopes  that  my 
last  week's  congregation  would  have  come  to-day,  but  was 
disappointed.  I  went  out,  however,  to  a  market  at  about  two 
miles'  distance,  called  Nullagunge,  and  preached  to  the  people 
there,  who  were  very  attentive,  and  promised  to  come  for  fur- 
ther instruction  the  day  after  to-morrow.  I  hope  some  good 
may  be  done  soon. 

'  8.  To-day  I  preached  once,  and  Mr.  Thomas  once,  in  our 
house,  to  our  visiters :  hope  it  was  a  time  of  some  little  re- 
freshing to  our  souls.  About  the  middle  of  the  night  they  left 
us. 

'  9,  10.  Much  to  complain  of:  such  another  dead  soul  I 
think  scarcely  exists  in  the  world.  I  can  only  compare  myself 
to  one  banished  from  all  his  friends,  and  wandering  in  an  irk- 
some solitude. 

'  12 — 14.  Much  to  do  in  the  world,  and  almost  all  my  time 
taken  up  therein.  Have  had  a  few  serious  solitary  reflections, 
but  want  that  tenderness  and  that  peace  of  conscience  which  I 
have  experienced  in  time  past.  Mine  is  a  lonesome  life  indeed. 
O  that  my  soul  may  be  quickened  in  divine  things ! 

*  15.  A  miserable  day.  I  did  not  suspect  that  my  soul  was 
so  absorbed  in  the  world  as  I  find  it  to  be.  If  I  try  to  pray, 
something  relative  to  the  completing  of  our  works  starts  up, 
and  my  thoughts  are  all  carnal  and  confused.  I  have  been 
very  unhappy,  and  would  not  have  to  manage  all  the  business 
of  so  great  a  concern  again  for  another  person,  for  the  world  ; 
but  it  is  my  own  carnal  spirit  that  is  to  be  blamed :  this  is  the 
station  which  God  has,  in  great  mercy,  put  me  into,  and  has 
thus  presei^ved  and  provided  for  my  family.  Mounshi  was 
gone  to  see  a  relation  for  about  a  fortnight,  but  I  went  out  to 
preach  to  the  natives.  Found  very  few ;  tried  to  discourse  to 
them,  but  my  soul  was  overwhelmed  with  depression,  and  I 
left  them  after  some  time.     By  the  way,  I  tried  to  pour  out 


MEMOIR  OF    DR.  CAREY.  155 

my  soul  in  prayer  to  God,  but  was  ready  to  sink  under  its 
burden. 

'  16 — 22.  Had  a  little  converse  with  God.  Very  barren,  and 
much  discouraged.  On  Saturday,  Mr.  Thomas  and  his  family 
came  to  see  us ;  and  on  the  Lord's  day  Mr.  Thomas  and  I 
went  to  Lulla,  a  village  about  two  miles  off,  where  he  preached, 
and  had  great  liberty  of  expression.  The  people  appeared  to 
be  much  impressed  with  the  word  of  God,  and  I  hope  it  may 
be  of  use  to  them  eventually. 

'23 — 29.  Nothing  important  occurred.  On  Wednesday, 
Mr.  Thomas  left  us.  I  trust  his  visit  has  been  of  some  use  to 
my  soul.  Spiritual  conversation  is  a  great  and  invaluable 
blessing.  Preached  on  Lord's  day  to  a  few  people  at  a  village 
near  my  house. 

'30 — April  5.  Had  an  opportunity  or  two,  which  I  was 
enabled  to  embrace,  of  speaking  to  some  natives  upon  the 
wickedness  of  the  horrid  practice  of  swinging,  &c.  That 
season  is  now  approaching ;  and  on  Lord's  day  I  appointed  to 
preach  twice  to  the  natives.  Li  the  morning  the  congregation 
was  about  five  hundred ;  and  after  Mounshi  had  read  a  chap- 
ter in  Matthew,  I  endeavored  to  preach,  and  had  more  enjoy- 
ment than  for  some  time  past.  The  people,  having  attended 
with  great  seriousness,  went  away  shouting,  'Alla!'  that  is, 
O  God  !  In  the  evening  had  about  four  hundred,  and  was 
enabled  to  speak  to  them  of  the  necessity  of  a  sinner's  union 
with  Christ.  They  appeared  serious,  and  departed  shouting 
as  in  the  morning,  which  is  a  way  that  the  Mussulmans  use  to 
invoke  the  divine  Being,  Alla  being  derived  from  the  Hebrew 
El,  and  the  Arabic  and  Persian  word  for  God.  This  the  Mus- 
sulmans universally  use  here. 

'April  6 — 10.  Had  frequent  opportunities  of  discoursing 
with  the  natives  about  the  horrid  self-tormenting  mode  of 
worship  which  is  practised  on  the  8th.  9th,  and  10th  of  this 
month;  as  falling  on  spikes  of  iron,  dancing  with  threads  or 
bamboos  thrust  through  their  sides,  swinging,  &c.  This  is 
practised  on  the  three  last  days  of  their  year.  But  the  princi- 
pal is  what  they  call  Churruk  Poojah,  that  is,  the  worship  of 
swinging.  Poojah  is  their  word  for  worship,  and  Poodjah  for 
the  object  of  worship.  I  find  that  this  worship  is  only  prac- 
tised by  the  Harry,  or  lowest  caste  of  the  Hindus,  who  are 


156  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

hunters,  bird-catchers,  tanners,  shoemakers,  &c.,  and  are 
esteemed  execrable  among  the  other  castes ;  but  great  num- 
bers always  go  to  see  them.  The  other  modes  of  self-tor- 
menting besides  swinging  are  not  practised  in  this  part  of  the 
country ;  but  on  the  tenth,  that  was  attended  to  in  many  places, 
and  the  night  was  spent  in  dancing  and  mirth.  This  day  I 
had  a  serious  conversation  with  a  man  about  his  soul. 

'  11,  12.  On  the  last  of  these  days  preached  twice  to  the 
natives.  Had  a  large  assembly  in  the  morning,  about  two 
hundred,  and  in  the  evening  about  five  hundred.  Mounshi 
first  read  to  them  a  part  of  the  gospel  by  Matthew,  and  I  after- 
wards preached  to  them  upon  the  necessity  of  repentance  and 
faith,  and  of  copying  the  example  of  Christ.  They  heard 
with  considerable  attention,  and  I  felt  some  sweet  freedom  in 
pressing  them  to  come  to  Christ.  Afterwards  had  some  med- 
itation on  the  effects  of  the  fear  of  God  on  my  soul,  and  saw 
plainly  that  I  was  restrained  from  much  evil  thereby,  not 
merely  as  if  I  were  hindered  from  action  by  bands  put  upon 
me,  but  by  its  operation  upon  my  will,  and  exciting  me  to  fear 
doing  that  which  God  disapproves  of. 

'13 — J  9.  Passed  the  week  in  a  tolerably  calm  manner. 
Had  a  few  opportunities  of  discoursing  about  the  things  of 
God.  On  Lord's  day  preached  twice  to  a  pretty  large  con- 
course of  people,  I  suppose  five  or  six  hundred  each  time. 
Was  very  poorly  with  a  cold,  and  dejected,  thinking  I  could 
say  nothing ;  but,  contrary  to  my  expectation,  I  was  enabled 
to  pour  out  my  soul  to  God  for  them,  and  afterwards  for  God 
to  them.  I  felt  liberty  and  pleasure,  much  more  than  I  could 
expect,  in  speaking  a  hard  language,  with  which  my  acquaint-, 
ance  must  necessarily  be  slender,  though  I  believe  I  spoke 
more  than  half  an  hour  so  as  to  be  well  understood,  without 
any  help  from  Mounshi.  I  have  hope  that  God  may  at  last 
appear  and  carry  on  his  work  in  the  midst  of  us. 

'May  9.  I  have  added  nothing  to  these  memoirs  since  the 
19th  of  April.  Now  I  observe  that,  for  the  last  three  Sabbaths, 
my  soul  has  been  much  comforted  in  seeing  so  large  a  con- 
gregation, and  more  especially  as  many  who  are  not  our  own 
workmen  come  from  the  parts  adjacent,  whose  attendance 
must  be  wholly  disinterested.  I  therefore  now  rejoice  in  see- 
ing a  regular  congregation  of  from  two  to  six  hundred  people, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  157 

of  all  descriptions :  Mussulmans,  Brahmuns,  and  other  classes 
of  Hindus,  which  I  look  upon  as  a  favorable  token  from  God. 
I  this  day  attempted  to  preach  to  them  more  regularly  from  a 
passage  of  the  word  of  God,  Luke  iv,  18 :  '  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  poor,'  &c. ;  in  which  I  endeavored  to  prove  the 
miserable  state  of  unconverted  men,  as  spiritually  poor;  as 
bound  by  a  sinful  disposition  and  by  pernicious  customs,  and 
false  expectations  of  happiness,  from  false  and  idolatrous 
worship ;  in  which  I  took  occasion  to  observe,  that  both  in  the 
Shastras  and  Koran  there  were  many  good  observations  and 
rules,  which  ought  to  be  attended  to ;  but  that  one  thing  they 
could  not  inform  us  of,  viz.,  how  God  can  forgive  sin  consist- 
ently with  his  justice,  and  save  sinners  in  a  way  in  which 
justice  and  mercy  could  harmonize.  I  told  them  that  their 
books  were  like  a  loaf  of  bread,  in  which  was  a  considerable 
quantity  of  good  flour,  but  also  a  little  very  malignant  poison, 
which  made  the  whole  so  poisonous  that  whoever  should  eat 
of  it  would  die ;  so,  I  observed,  that  their  writings  contained 
much  good  instruction  mixed  with  deadly  poison.  J  appealed 
to  them  whether  any  of  their  idols  could  give  them  rain,  a 
blessing  much  wanted  now,  or  whether  they  could  do  them 
any  service  at  all;  when  an  old  Mussulman  answered,  'No, 
they  have  no  power  at  all;'  and  in  this  he  included  the  Mus- 
sulmans' peers,  or  spirits  of  their  saints,  as  well  as  the  heathen 
idols.  I  observed  that  the  caste  was  a  strong  chain  by  which 
they  were  bound,  and  afterwards  spoke  of  the  suitableness  and 
glory  of  the  gospel,  which  proposed  an  infinitely  great  sacrifice 
for  infinite  guilt,  and  a  free  salvation  for  poor  and  perishing 
sinners.  In  the  afternoon  I  enlarged  upon  the  same  subject, 
felt  my  own  soul  warmed  with  the  opportunity,  and  hoped  for 
good.  Of  late  God  has  given  me  a  greater  concern  for  the 
salvation  of  the  heathen,  and  I  have  been  enabled  to  make  it  a 
more  importunate  request  at  the  throne  of  grace. 

'  Blessed  be  God,  I  have  at  last  received  letters  and  other 
articles  from  our  friends  in  England.  I  rejoice  to  hear  of  the 
welfare  of  Zion.  Bless  God  that  the  Leicester  people  go  on 
well.  O  may  they  increase  more  and  more !  Letters  from 
dear  brethren  Fuller,  Morris,  Pearce,  and  Rippon ;  but  why 
not  from  others?  I  am  grieved  for  Carleton  church.  Poor 
15 


158  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

brother  West !  I  am  grieved  for  England.  A  residence  there 
with  propriety  is  extremely  difficult.  Bless  God  we  have  no 
such  spies  or  informers  here ;  we  are  in  peace,  and  sit  under 
our  vines  and  fig-trees. 

'June  14.  I  have  had  very  sore  trials  in  my  own  family, 
fi-om  a  quarter  which  I  forbear  to  mention.  Have  greater  need 
for  faith  and  patience  than  ever  I  had,  and  I  bless  God  that  I 
have  not  been  altogether  without  supplies  of  these  graces, 
though,  alas,  I  have  much  to  complain  of  from  within.  Mr. 
Thomas  and  his  family  spent  one  Lord's  day  with  us.  May  23. 
He  was  much  pleased  with  our  congregation ;  and  we  con- 
certed means  to  get  all  the  old  Hindu  professors  together, 
having  it  now  in  our  power  to  furnish  them  with  some  em- 
ployment. We  spent  Wednesday,  26th,  in  prayer,  and  for  a 
convenient  place,  assembled  in  a  temple  of  Seeb,  which  was 
near  to  our  house.  Mounshi  was  with  us,  and  we  all  engaged 
in  supplication  for  the  revival  of  godliness  in  our  own  souls, 
and  the  prosperity  of  the  work  among  the  natives.  I  was  from 
that  day  seized  with  a  dysentery,  which  continued  nearly  a 
week  with  dreadful  violence  ;  but  then  I  recovered,  through 
abundant  mercy.  That  day  of  prayer  was  a  good  day  to  our 
souls.  We  concerted  measures  for  forming  a  Baptist  church, 
and  to-morrow  morning  I  am  going  to  Moypal,  for  the  purpose 
of  our  organizing  it.  Through  divine  mercy  our  congregation 
of  natives  is  very  promising:  we  have  rather  fewer  people 
now,  owing  to  this  being  their  seed-time,  the  rains  being  just 
now  setting  in.  I  hope  for  and  expect  the  blessing  of  God 
among  us.  Though  it  is  painful  to  preach  among  careless 
heathens,  yet  I  feel  preaching  the  gospel  to  be  the  element  of 
my  soul.  Had  much  seriousness  to-day  in  addressing  them 
from  the  words  of  Paul, — '  Come  out  from  among  them,  and  be 
separate,  and  touch  not  the  unclean  thing,  and  I  will  receive 
you ;'  and  I  thought  the  people  behaved  seriously.  The  trans- 
lation also  goes  on ;  Genesis  is  finished,  and  Exodus  to  the 
33d  chapter.  I  have  also,  for  the  purpose  of  exercising  my- 
self in  the  language,  begun  translating  the  gospel  by  John, 
which  Mounshi  afterwards  corrects ;  and  Mr.  Thomas  has 
begun  the  gospel  by  Luke.     O  Lord,  send  now  prosperity ! ' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  159 


SECTION    III. 

LETTER  TO  HIS   SISTERS LETTER  TO  THE  SOCIETY LETTER  TO 

MR.     PEARCE BRIEF    NOTICE    RESPECTING    HIM LETTER    TO 

HIS  SISTERS LETTER  TO  THE  SOCIETY REMARKS  ON  SECU- 
LAR EMPLOYMENTS MISSION  TO  AFRICA  REFERRED  TO LET- 
TER FROM  MR.  THOMAS. 

'  Mudnabatty,  March  1 1,  1795. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'Many  changes  have  taken  place  with  me  smce  I  left  Eng- 
land ;  but  I  find  that  all  have  been  conducive  to  my  good,  and 
I  trust  will  be  found  so  to  the  promotion  of  the  knowledge  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  though  I  have  abundant  cause  to  com- 
plain of  my  leanness  from  day  to  day,  and  the  exceedingly  un- 
grateful returns  that  I  make  to  God  for  all  his  very  great  good- 
ness and  bounty  towards  me.  I  am  surrounded  with  favors, 
nay,  they  are  poured  in  upon  me ;  yet  I  find  the  rebellion  of 
my  heart  against  God  to  be  so  great  as  to  neglect,  nay,  forget 
him,  and  live  in  that  neglect  day  after  day  without  feeling  my 
soul  smitten  with  compunction.  I  trust  that  I  am  not  for- 
gotten in  the  prayers  of  my  friends ;  and  perhaps  it  is  in  answer 
to  their  requests  that  the  spark  of  love  to  God  is  not  quite  ex- 
tinguished. 

'  The  inestimable  blessing  of  Christian  society  is  enjoyed  but 
scantily  here  to  what  it  is  in  England ;  for  though  we  have 
very  valuable  Christian  friends,  yet  they  live  twenty  or  thirty 
miles  distant  from  us ;  and  as  travelling  is  very  difficult  here, 
there  being  no  way  of  travelling  but  by  water,  we  have  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  each  other  but  seldom ;  though  when  we  do, 
it  makes  our  meetings  much  more  sweet  and  agreeable  than 
they  might  be  if  we  met  oftener.  We  have  in  the  neighbor- 
hood about  fifteen  or  sixteen  serious  persons,  or  those  I  have 
good  hopes  of,  all  Europeans. 

'With  the  natives  I  have  very  large  concerns;  almost  all  the 
farmers  for  near  twenty  miles  round  cultivate  indigo  for  us, 
and  the  laboring  people  working  here  to  the  number  of  about 


160  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

five  hundred,  so  that  I  have  considerable  opportunity  of  pub- 
lishing the  gospel  to  them.  I  have  so  much  knowledge  of  the 
language  as  to  be  able  to  preach  to  them  for  about  half  an 
hour,  so  as  to  be  understood,  but  am  not  able  to  vary  my  sub- 
jects much.  I  tell  them  of  the  evil  and  universality  of  sin,  the 
sins  of  a  natural  state,  the  justice  of  God,  the  incarnation  of 
Christ,  and  his  sufferings  in  our  stead,  and  of  the  necessity  of 
conversion,  holiness,  and  faith,  in  order  to  salvation.  They 
hear  with  attention  in  general,  and  some  come  to  me  for  in- 
struction in  the  things  of  God.  I  hope  in  time  I  may  have  to 
rejoice  over  some  who  are  truly  converted  to  God. 

'  Poor  Peter  is  removed  from  us  by  death. — 

'  I  have  had  much  better  health  here  than  in  England ;  but 
was  attacked  with  fever,  &c.,  for  near  two  months  Last  year 
was  a  very  unhealthy  one ;  we  had  so  many  people  ill  as  to  be 
scarcely  able,  sometimes,  to  carry  on  the  works.  The  quan- 
tities of  rice  which  grow  here  are  the  occasion  of  this  un- 
healthiness ;  for  rice  grows  half  up  the  straw  in  water,  and  the 
water  is  confined  in  the  fields,  and  stagnates  there,  in  order 
that  the  corn  may  grow. 

'I  am,  your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Carey.* 

*To  THE  Society  for  Spreading  the  Gospel  among  the 
Heathen. 

'Mudnabatty,  Aug.  13,  1795. 
'Dear  Brethren, 

'An  opportunity  now  presents  itself  for  me  to  write  you  a 
few  words  of  my  welfai'e  and  state;  and  by  this  opportunity 
I  send  my  journal,  by  which  you  will  see  a  little  of  the  manner 
of  my  life.  Some  things  in  it,  as  Mr.  Thomas's  engaging  in 
business,  &c.,  at  Calcutta,  I  desire  to  have  for  ever  suppressed 
and  buried  in  oblivion ;  as  I  am  convinced  that  it  was  only  oc- 
casioned by  temporary  circumstances,  and  from  that  time  to 
this,  the  utmost  harmony  and  affection  has  prevailed  between 
us.  I  think  the  whole  of  it  can  only  present  a  melancholy 
picture  of  sameness,  and  be  tedious  as  a  twice-told  tale. 

'  I  trust  we  have  not  been  altogether  idle,  t4iough  I  know 
not  as  yet  of  any  success  that  has  attended  our  labors.  Moun- 
shi  and  Mohun  Chund  are  now  with  me  ;  but  I  do  not  see  that 
disinterested  zeal  which  is  so  ornamental  to  a  Christian  in 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  161 

either  of  them.  Yet  they  have  good  knowledge  of  the  things 
of  God,  considering  their  disadvantages.  With  their  help  we 
have  divine  worship  twice  on  the  Lord's  day  in  Bengali,  which 
is  thus  conducted:  first,  Mounshi  reads  a  chapter  in  Bengali; 
then  we  sing  ;  afterwards  I  pray,  and  preach  to  them  in  that 
language.  Partly  from  local  circumstances,  and  partly  from 
paucity  of  words,  my  preaching  is  very  different  from  what  it 
was  in  England ;  but  the  guilt  and  depravity  of  mankind,  and 
the  redemption  by  Christ,  with  the  freeness  of  God's  mercy 
are  the  themes  I  most  insist  upon.  I  often  exhort  them  in  the 
words  of  the  apostle,  2  Cor.  vi,  17. 

'The  translation  of  the  Bible  is  going  on,  though  but  slowly, 
it  may  be  thought.  I  have  got  Genesis  and  Exodus  nearly 
ready  for  the  press,  and  Leviticus  is  begun ;  if  we  are  spared, 
I  hope  we  may  be  able  to  put  Genesis  or  more  to  the  press  by 
Christmas.  We  have  for  the  present  given  up  the  idea  of 
getting  types  from  England,  and  as  there  are  types  in  Bengal, 
we  think  to  print  in  the  ordinary  way,  though  the  expense  is 
about  ten  times  what  it  would  be  in  England.  This  will, 
however,  be  much  more  than  compensated  by  the  reflection, 
that  we  have  put  into  the  hands  of  many  heathens  a  treasure 
greater  than  that  of  diamonds,  and,  by  multiplying  copies,  made 
a  probability  of  those  Scriptures  being  preserved  in  the  Bengal 
tongue. 

'One  great  difficulty  in  speaking  to  the  Hindus  arises  from 
the  extreme  ignorance  of  the  common  people,  who  are  not  able 
to  understand  one  of  their  own  countrymen  who  speaks  the 
language  well,  wdthout  considerable  difficulty.  They  have  a 
confined  dialect,  composed  of  a  very  few  words,  which  they 
work  about,  and  make  them  mean  almost  every  thing ;  and 
their  poverty  of  words  to  express  religious  ideas  is  amazing,  all 
their  conversation  being  about  things  earthly.  'Tis  far  other- 
wise, however,  with  them  who  speak  the  language  well :  the 
language  is  rich  and  copious,  and  publishing  the  Bible  must 
make  it  more  known  to  the  common  people. 

'You  will  perceive  by  the  journal  the  superstitions  w^e 
have  to  encounter,  and  I  doubt  not  will  sympathize  with 
and  pray  for  us.  We  have  need  of  your  prayers  and  advice, 
in  every  respect,  and  trust  you  are  not  without  a  share  in 
ours. 

15* 


162  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

'We  have  received  letters  from  Mr.  Fuller,  Mr.  Pearce, 
Mr.  Morris,  and  Dr.  Rippon,  which  were  a  great  refresh- 
ment to  us.  I  hope  we  shall  not  have  so  great  a  scarcity 
of  letters  from  Europe  again.  The  articles  likewise  all  ar- 
rived safe. 

'Through  the  mercy  of  God,  we  all  enjoy  very  good  health, 
and  I  think  much  more  so  than  last  year ;  though  I  have  had 
much  better  health  than  in  England,  and  like  the  climate  much. 

'I  have  only  to  add,  that  I  suppose  you  will  have  great 
difficulty  in  reading  my  diary:  the  damp  air  of  the  rainy 
season  had  extracted  all  the  size  out  of  the  paper,  and  I 
was  short  of  that  article,  so  could  not  replace  it.  I  have 
discontinued  it  for  some  time;  but  no  new  occurrence 
has  taken  place  since  I  wrote  my  last  journal.  I  intend, 
now,  immediately  to  resume  it,  and  send  you  regular  accounts 
thereof.  I  am,  dear  brethren,  affectionately  yours, 

'  W.  Carey.' 

'  To  Mr.  S.  Pearce,  Birmingham. 

Oct.  2,  1795. 
'My  very  dear  Brother, 

'Yours  of  the  27th  of  March,  1795,  I  received  a  few  days 
ago,  which  was  the  second  receipt  of  letters  from  England, 
since  I  have  been  in  Bengal ;  and,  except  the  stationery  and 
shoes  sent  out  in  the  Royal  Admiral,  by  Mr.  Savage,  no  article, 
no  remittance,  or  letter  has  reached  us ;  so  that,  had  you  come 
instead  of  your  letter,  the  surprise  would  have  been  great  in- 
deed. No  books  of  any  kind  have  reached  us,  except  brother 
Fuller's  piece  on  Socinianism,  which  is  admh-able ;  Mr.  R.  H.'s 
piece  on  politics,  which  I  wish  had  been  on  divinity;  and 
"Rippon's  Register,"  to  No.  viii  inclusive.  I  have  not  seen 
the  Register  you  mention  (ix),  in  which  the  account  is  given 
of  the  arts  used  to  inveigle  poor  Ram  Boshoo.  I  wrote  an  ac- 
count of  it  to  somebody,  but  am  sorry  to  hear  of  its  being  pub- 
lished, especially  that  any  names  were  made  use  of;  a  n 
would  now  give  this  caution,  once  for  all,  that  every  thing  like 
personality  be  avoided,  in  every  publication  respecting  the 
mission,  as  all  connexions  here  are  a  thousand  times  more 
conspicuous  than  in  England.  When  I  write,  I  write  freely? 
and  hope  my  correspondents  will  be  prudent ;  otherwise,  more 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  163 

hurt  will  be  done  to  the  mission  than  a  thousand  people  can 
easily  repair. 

'I  wrote  to  Mr.  Fuller,  for  a  number  of  books  ;  among  them, 
a  polyglott  Bible,  and  "Botanical  Magazine,"  by  Curtis  and 
Sowerby,  but  have  not  yet  received  them.  All  other  publica- 
tions of  any  account  will  be  great  treats  to  us. 

'All  I  can  say  must  be  about  ourselves,  and  egotism  is 
tedious.  But  1  will  send  you  all  the  news  I  can.  I  cannot 
send  you  any  account  of  sinners  flocking  to  Clii'ist,  or  of  any 
thing  encouraging  in  that  respect ;  but  I  can  send  you  an  ac- 
count of  some  things  which  may  be  viewed  as  forerunners  to 
that  work  which  God  will  certainly  perform.  The  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  no  longer  strange  in  this  neighborhood.  And 
the  hymn  of  Mounshi  is  well  known,  especially  the  chorus, 

O  who  can  save  sinners  except  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ? 

'  We  have  divine  worship  constantly  every  Lord's  day,  and 
conduct  it  in  the  manner  of  the  English  churches;  and  on  the 
week  days,  I  take  opportunities  of  conversing  with  the  natives 
about  eternal  things. 

'The  Bible  has,  that  part  which  has  been  translated, 
been  read  to  several  hundreds  of  natives,  and  I  trust  will  gain 
ground. 

'  But  now  I  must  mention  some  of  the  difficulties  under 
which  we  labor,  particularly  myself.  The  language  spoken  by 
the  natives  of  this  part,  though  Bengali,  is  yet  so  different  from 
the  language  itself,  that,  though  1  can  preach  an  hour  with 
tolerable  freedom,  so  as  that  all  who  speak  the  language  well, 
or  can  write  or  read,  perfectly  understand  me,  yet  the  poor 
laboring  people  can  understand  but  little;  and  though  the 
language  is  rich,  beautiful,  and  expressive,  yet  the  poor  people, 
whose  whole  concern  has  been  to  get  a  little  rice  to  satisfy 
their  wants,  or  to  cheat  their  oppressive  merchants  and 
zemindars,  have  scarcely  a  word  in  use  about  religion.  They 
have  no  word  for  love,  for  repent,  and  a  thousand  other  things  ; 
and  every  idea  is  expressed,  either  by  quaint  phrases,  or  tedious 
circumlocutions  :  a  native  who  speaks  the  language  well,  finds 
it  a  year's,  work  to  obtain  their  idiom.  This  sometimes  dis- 
courages me  much ;  but,  blessed  be  God,  I  feel  a  growing  de- 
sire to  be  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  and  I 
know  that  my  labor  shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the  Lord.    I  am 


164  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

much  encouraged  by  our  Lord's  expression,  '  He  who  reapeth' 
(in  the  harvest)  'receiveth  wages,  and  gathereth  fruit  unto 
eternal  life.'  If  I,  like  David,  only  am  an  instrument  of  gath- 
ering materials,  and  another  build  the  house,  1  trust  my  joy 
will  not  be  the  less. 

'  The  translation  of  the  Bible  is  going  on,  and  is,  to  me,  a 
very  pleasant  work:  Genesis,  and  Exodus,  and  Matthew,  Mark, 
part  of  John,  and  James,  may  be  reckoned  ready  for  the  press. 
I  am  surprised  to  find  that  one  third  of  the  words  in  the 
Hebrew  Bible  are  known  to  Mounshi,  and  great  numbers  are 
in  constant  use  in  this  country,  as  kophar,  a  sin-offering. 
Kophar  means  here,  the  vilest  character  and  actions  imagin- 
able ;  and  if  you  mean  to  affront  a  Mussulman,  no  word  will 
do  it  so  effectually.  It  appears  to  have  been  given  by  the 
Arabs  to  all  negroes ;  hence  Caffraria,  the  country  of  the 
Caffres.  So  Hosannah  is  much  used  in  Persian,  and  is  an  ex- 
clamation of  the  multitude  to  a  great  man  or  king,  on  his 
entering  into  any  city  or  place :  the  populace  then  cry  Asanta, 
that  is,  the  bringer  of  happiness,  or  Osianna,  viz.,  this  is  the 
bringer  of  all  good  or  happiness  to  us.  So  the  word  used  for 
the  crown  of  the  altar,  &c.,  (-)t)  is  in  common  use,  and  the 
thing  too  may  be  seen  on  most  of  the  natives'  palanquins.  I 
have,  in  the  translation,  sounded  the  Hebrew  Jod,  and  the 
Greek  Iota,  like  Y,  and  believe  them  to  be  the  true  pronunci- 
ation, and  by  this  pronunciation  many  words  are  familiar  to 
learned  men  here  :  as  Yosuf,  Yakoob,  Izhak,  Mooseh,  Kooresh, 
&c.  This  may  appear  trifling  to  you ;  but  when  translating,  I 
find  multitudes  of  such  apparently  trifling  things,  which  have 
considerable  weight.  Printing,  here  is  uncommonly  dear; 
but  if  types  could  be  got  from  England,  there  are  natives  who 
could  do  the  business  of  compositors  and  pressmen ;  and  this 
would  be  the  cheapest  way.  Mr.  Thomas  has  a  set  of  letters 
fit  for  types  to  be  founded  by,  written  for  that  purpose  by  a 
native  who  writes  an  excellent  hand.  I  will  persuade  him  to 
enclose  them  to  the  society  this  season  ;  they  may  then  use 
their  pleasure  about  having  them  made  or  not.  We  intended 
to  have  done  it  at  our  own  expense,  but  at  present  are  not 
able. 

'Nothing  could  give  me  more  heartfelt  pleasure,  I  believe, 
than  to  see  my  dear  brother  Pearce  at  Mudnabatty ;  but  I  am 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  165 

not  quite  clear  that  a  person  of  your  usefulness  in  England, 
should  quit  his  station.  You  are  certainly  qualified  by  God  to 
fill  an  important  post  at  home ;  and  the  thought  is  painful,  of 
seeing  you  cut  off  from  all  possibility  of  preaching  for  two 
years,  or  more.  Besides,  preaching  among  the  natives  is  very 
different  from  preaching  among  Europeans :  it  must  consist 
much  in  assertion,  and,  among  the  common  people,  much 
proof  will  be  in  vain.  Your  method  of  a  warm  address  to 
the  heart  is  necessary,  and  almost  the  whole,  in  preaching 
here :  but  you  have  other  talents,  which,  perhaps,  are  not  over 
plentiful  in  England.  I  think  persons  whose  hearts  burn  with 
love  to  Christ,  if  other  qualifications  for  the  ministry  are  rather 
fewer,  will  equally  answer  the  end.  I  much  rejoice  to  hear  of 
the  willingness  of  the  two  young  men  at  Bristol ;  may  God 
confirm  their  hearts !  and  if  successors  to  us  are  sent  in  time, 
it  will  be  a  wise  step,  as  our  lives  are  uncertain,  and  it  will  be 
a  great  pity  for  the  mission  to  be  vacant  two  or  three  years, 
for  want  of  persons  acquainted  with  their  language  and 
customs.' 

It  is  well  known  that  the  mind  of  Mr.  Pearce  was  zealously 
inclined  to  missionary  labor.  And,  considering  the  nature  of 
his  complaint,  and  the  intense  ardor  of  his  desire  to  proceed 
to  India,  it  has  sometimes  been  doubted  by  those  who  well 
knew  him,  whether  he  acted  rightly  in  relinquishing  his  pur- 
pose. He  besought  a  number  of  his  brethren  to  make  it 
matter  of  intercession  with  God,  that  he  would  indicate  the 
designs  of  his  providence.  After  such  exercise,  and  the  best 
consideration  they  could  bestow  upon  so  solemn  a  subject, 
they  expressed  their  opinion  as  adverse  to  the  procedure,  and 
he  abided  by  their  decision.  For  these  twenty  years  past,  the 
son  of  Mr.  Pearce  has  been  honored  to  bear  an  important  and 
successful  part  in  those  labors,  from  which,  by  an  inscrutable 
providence,  the  father  was  withholden. 

Letter  continued. 
'  You  think  of  Africa.  I  rejoice,  and  hope  you  will  perse- 
vere ;  and  I  will  give  you  one  or  two  words  of  advice,  if  a 
little  experience  may  entitle  me  to  that  privilege.  When  your 
missionaries  leave  England,  they  will,  of  course,  be  supplied 
with  all  proper  necessaries.    If  they  land  at  an  English  fac- 


166  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

tory,  they  may  procure  most  things  necessary,  if  they  have 
money ;  but  it  will  be  to  their  comfort  to  set  out  on  a  low 
scale  of  living,  and  to  be  determined,  previously,  what  course  of 
life  to  pursue  for  a  livelihood.  I  still  think  farming  preferable 
to  any;  but  there  are  many  difficulties  and  disappointments 
to  be  overcome,  for  birds,  beasts,  and  insects  will  combine  to 
destroy  all.  I  would  advise  them  to  avoid  all  woody  and  un- 
frequented places, — they  are  full  of  danger ;  and  to  choose  an 
open,  high  spot,  for  their  habitation.  These  are  very  neces- 
sary cautions,  if  the  lives  and  health  of  the  missionaries  are 
regarded.  I  would  also  advise  them  to  avoid  sleeping  on  the 
ground.  If  they  carry  out  bedsteads  and  gauze  curtains,  to 
prevent  the  musquitoes  biting  them,  it  will  be  a  good  pre- 
caution :  without  them,  they  cannot  live  long.  They  will  do 
well  to  associate,  as  much  as  possible,  with  the  natives,  and 
to  write  down  every  word  they  can  catch,  with  its  meaning. 
But  if  they  have  children  with  them,  it  is  by  far  the  readiest 
way  of  learning,  to  listen  to  them,  for  they  will  catch  up  every 
idiom  in  a  little  time.  My  children  can  speak  nearly  as  well 
as  the  natives,  and  know  many  things  in  Bengali  which  they 
do  not  know  in  English.  I  should  also  recommend  to  your 
consideration,  a  very  large  country,  perhaps  unthought  of:  I 
mean,  Boutan  or  Thibet.  Were  two  missionaries  sent  to  that 
country,  we  should  have  it  in  our  power  to  afford  them  much 
help.  We  could  also,  if  we  knew  of  their  coming  previously, 
order  matters  for  their  settling  there ;  could  assist  them  with 
many  necessaries  ;  sometimes  see  them,  and  keep  up  a  regular 
communication  with  them  once  m  three  weeks  or  a  month,  at 
a  very  small  expense,  as  we  are  within  about  a  hundred  miles 
of  the  borders  of  that  country :  I  myself  have  seen  the  moun- 
tains that  border  it.  Mr.  Thomas  and  I  intend  making  a  jour- 
ney into  that  country  very  soon,  and  have  thought  of  securing 
a  place  there  for  some  such  purpose.  I  much  wish  the  socie- 
ty to  turn  their  thoughts  to  that  part  of  the  world. 

'  The  day  I  received  your  letter,  I  set  about  composing  a 
grammar  and  dictionary  of  the  Bengal  language,  to  send  to 
you.  Perhaps  you  may  obtain  '  Halhed's  Bengal  Grammar '  in 
England:  it  will  be  a  great  help.  There  is  a  dictionary  and 
grammar,  of  Hindostani,  published  by  a  Mr.  Gilchrist,  a  very 
good  one ;  but  this  will  not  be  very  useful  for  Bengali :  it  is, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  167 

however,  a  useful  and  very  excellent  w^ork,  in  three  volumes, 
quarto.  The  best  account  of  Hindu  mythology  extant,  and 
which  is  pretty  exact,  is  '  Sonnerat's  Voyage,'  undertaken  by 
order  of  the  king  of  France. 

'Now,  dear  brother,  adieu!  Mercy  and  truth  be  Avith  you! 
I  hope  the  scarcity  of  European  letters  will  be  recompensed 
to  us  by  a  multitude  in  future.  I  have  received  no  letter  from 
my  dear  brethren  Ryland,  SutclifF,  Blundel,  Edmonds,  or  dear 
father  Fawcett,  nor  from  my  dear  friends  at  Leicester.  I  re- 
joice much  to  hear  of  their  welfare.  Tell  them,  I  still  love 
them  in  the  Lord.  Tell  Mr.  Cave,  I  love  him.  My  sincere 
love  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  King,  Potts,  Rounds,  &c., — to  all  the 
dear  ministers,  churches,  and  acquaintance  in  England.  I 
know  you  pray  for  us ;  I  trust  we  do  so  for  you.  May  God 
answer  all  our  prayers ! 

'I  just  say  we  are  well,  which  is  a  great  mercy,  as  this  is  the 
breaking  up  of  the  rains. 

'  The  utmost  harmony  prevails  between  Mr.  Thomas  and 
myself;  and  I  trust  Mr.  Thomas's  assistant,  a  Mr.  Powel,  who 
is  added  to  us,  may  be  of  use  to  us  in  our  undertaking.  My 
assistant  is  a  Portuguese,  a  Catholic ;  his  wife,  a  coast  Protest- 
ant, and  he  attend  the  preaching  every  Lord's  day.  I  hope 
God  may  work  on  his  heart  effectually.  Sincere  love  to  you 
and  yours  accompanies  this. 

'  I  am,  affectionately  yours,  W.  Caret.' 

'  Mudnahatty,  Oct  5,  1795. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'Yet  in  all  these  things  I  rejoice ;  and  find  comfort  in  God. 
The  w^ork  of  preaching  to  the  heathen  is,  to  me,  a  very  pleas- 
ant work:  and  translating  the  Bible,  peculiarly  so.  But  I 
mourn  want  of  success.  However,  I  feel  disposed  to  double 
my  diligence  rather  than  to  despair.  God's  promises  are  true ; 
and  will,  in  his  own  time,  be  surely  accomplished. 

'  Mr.  Thomas  and  I  live  on  the  most  agreeable  terms ;  and 
dear  Mr.  Udney  is  a  steady  friend.  We  should  have  formed  a 
church  before  now,  but  a  young  man,  who  was  to  have  been 
baptized,  was  taken  ill  with  a  dangerous  disorder ;  and  the 
rains  setting  in,  prevented  it.     I  expect  now,  however,  in  the 


168  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

space  of  a  month,  a  church  will  be  formed,  which,  though 
small,  will  yet  be,  1  trust,  as  a  light  shinmg  in  a  dark  place. 

'  Bless  God,  we  abound  in  every  comfort  of  life,  and  have  a 
good  income ;  a  good  brick  house,  which,  together  with  the 
works  which  I  have  had  the  building  of  here,  amount  to  about 
five  thousand  pounds,  English  money. 

'  This  season  has  been  a  bad  one,  owing  to  the  very  great 
overflowings,  which  are  greater  than  were  ever  known.  A 
small  river,  which  runs  by  our  house,  was  swelled  to  be  three 
or  four  miles  wide ;  and  our  boats  went  the  same  way,  for  ten 
or  twelve  miles,  which  we  used  to  go  on  foot  before.  But  we 
hope  next  year  will  be  better ;  this  is  all  in  the  hand  of  God, 
and  he  does  all  things  well.  I  am,  &c., 

'  Wm.  Carey.' 

To  THE  Society. 

'  Malda,  Dec.  1795. 

'  I  can  with  pleasure  inform  you  of  our  welfare,  and  that  of 
our  children ;  and  further,  that  a  Baptist  church  is  formed  in 
this  distant  quarter  of  the  globe.  Our  members  are  but  four 
in  number,  viz.,  Mr.  Thomas,  myself,  a  Mr.  Long,  and  a  Mr. 
Powel,  the  last  of  whom  accompanied  Mrs.  Thomas  from 
England.  Mr.  Long  had  been  baptized  by  Mr.  Thomas  when 
he  was  in  Lidia  before ;  and  on  the  first  of  November  this 
year,  I  baptized  Mr.  Powel.  At  this  place,  Malda,  we  were 
solemnly  united,  that  day,  as  a  church  of  Christ,  and  the 
Lord's  supper  has  since  been  twice  administered  among  us. 
Mr.  Powel  is  a  very  hopeful  young  man,  burns  with  zeal  for  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen,  and  I  hope  will  prove  a  valuable 
acquisition  to  the  mission. 

'  With  respect  to  the  heathen,  T  wish  I  could  write  more  fa- 
vorably. Our  lives,  however,  are  not  quite  spent  in  idleness,  nor 
our  labors  quite  without  effect.  I  am  just  returned  from  a 
tour  through  about  half  the  district  in  which  my  business  lies, 
and  the  whole  of  which  consists  of  about  two  hundred  vil- 
lages. In  this  tour  I  took  a  boat  for  my  lodging  and  the 
convenience  of  cooking  my  victuals,  but  performed  the  jour- 
ney on  foot,  walking  from  twelve  to  twenty  miles  a  day,  and 
preaching,  or  rather  conversing,  from  place  to  place,  about  the 
things  of  the  kingdom  of  God.     This  plan  I  intend  to  pursue 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY.  169 

Statedly,  the  whole  of  the  dry  season,  though  often  travelling- 
less  journeys.  I  have  not  yet  seen  much  fruit  of  my  labors. 
The  most  I  can  say  is  of  a  young  man  about  eighteen  years  of 
age,  a  Brahmun,  who  has  appeared  very  thoughtful  for  some 
time,  and  frequently  conversed  with  much  feeling  about  his 
eternal  concerns.  I  pray  God  it  may  end  well.  His  concern 
has  continued  now  nearly  three  months,  and  appears  rather  to 
increase ;  his  name  is  Cassinath  Mookhurgee.  Mounshi  has 
been  gone  to  visit  his  family  for  three  months,  and  Mohun 
Chnnd  is  now  with  me. 

'  Mr.  Thomas  and  I  have  also  received  letters  from  some 
people  at  Dinagepore,  the  capital  of  the  district,  whom  we  had 
never  seen,  and  who  had  heard  of  the  gospel.  They  wrote 
requesting  part  of  the  translation  to  be  sent  to  them.  I  will 
inclose  a  copy  of  that  letter  to  you.  Upon  the  whole,  I  trust 
the  prospect  of  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  is  not  so  gloomy 
as  to  give  room  for  despondency.  The  natural  obstacles,  such 
as  ignorance  of  the  language,  are  in  some  measure  surmount- 
ed ;  and  we  have  the  promise  of  God  that  the  moral  ones 
shall  also  be  overcome.'         **#*#* 

Serious  demur  was  felt  by  the  Society  in  England,  upon 
their  learning  that  Mr.  Carey  and  his  colleague  had  accepted 
secular  employment.  Their  doubts  were  entertained  most 
conscientiously,  and  arose  from  a  tender  solicitude  for  the 
welfare  of  their  brethren,  and  the  prosperity  of  their  mission- 
ary work.  They  feared,  lest  the  time  and  care  such  engage- 
ments might  require,  and  the  worldly  associations  they  might 
necessitate,  should  divert  them  from  their  appropriate  pursuits. 
But  too  little  attention  was  shown  in  this  case  to  the  actual 
circumstances  of  the  missionaries ;  their  pecuniary  supplies 
from  England  had  hitherto  been  so  very  meagre,  and  transmit- 
ted so  irregularly,  that  the  missionaries,  without  having  re- 
course to  some  such  means,  or  a  miracle  had  been  wrought 
for  them,  must  have  perished  for  want  of  subsistence.  Their 
employment  offered  itself  providentially,  coming  without  so- 
licitation on  their  parts,  and  at  the  time  of  the  greatest  ex- 
tremity. It  was  also  as  favorable  to  their  grand  object  as  any 
thing  worldly  could  be,  whilst  their  obtaining  it  opened 
to  them  a  ready  access  to  Europeans  and  to  natives  of  all 
classes,  which  otherwise  they  were  very  unlikely  to  realize ; 
16 


170  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

besides  which,  Mr.  Carey  was  more  simple  and  more  exalted 
in  his  devotion  to  the  mission,  than  even  his  most  attached 
friends,  at  that  early  period  of  his  public  career,  conceived.  The 
little  resources  he  now  commanded  were  no  otherwise  grati- 
fying to  liim  than  as  they  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  verifying 
his  professed  renunciation  of  the  world,  in  all  respects  but 
those  by  which  he  could  make  it  subserve  the  spiritual  and 
everlasting  welfare  of  his  fellow-men. 

Yet  the  scruples  of  the  Society,  though  not  called  for  in 
their  immediate  reference  to  Mr.  Carey,  were  nevertheless 
commendatory  of  their  wisdom  and  piety.  Asa  general  prin- 
ciple, missionaries  cannot  be  too  free  from  secular  labors, 
whatever  be  their  nature,  and  how  ample  soever  their  returns. 
One  missionary  out  of  twenty  may  encounter  them,  and  reap 
and  apply  their  results,  without  prejudice  to  his  principles  and 
liis  spirit ;  yet  in  the  nineteen  instances  the  influence  upon 
both  might  prove  adverse.  In  some  missionary  stations,  in- 
deed, the  labors  are  so  various,  that  unless  means  were  origin- 
ated on  the  spot,  or  ampler  remittances  were  sent  from  home 
than  the  general  claims  of  the  heathen  would  perhaps  justify, 
the  hands  of  a  missionary  must  be  bound.  In  India,  more 
than  the  half  of  all  the  outlay  for  schools,  chapels,  and  native 
preachers,  has  been  raised  upon  the  spot,  either  by  contribu- 
tions from  the  public,  or  from  the  labors  of  missionaries.  But 
it  would  not  be  easy  to  lay  down  a  universal  law  for  regulating 
the  conduct  of  missionaries  and  societies  in  this  matter.  The 
exclusive  devotion  to  spiritual  pursuits  should  be  the  rule,  the 
assumption  of  any  secular  vocation,  be  it  what  it  may,  the 
exception,  consented  to  reluctantly,  and  continued  with  cau- 
tion. But  much  more  depends  upon  the  character  of  the  men 
who  are  selected  for  this  work,  than  upon  any  rules,  however 
judiciously  devised,  for  the  government  of  their  conduct.  Let 
them  be  men  of  elevated  principle,  pure  devotion,  and  fervent 
zeal,  with  preponderating  good  common  sense  to  preserve 
them  from  fruitless  airy  schemes  and  absurd  vagaries  ;  and 
they  may  be  trusted  throughout  every  latitude  of  the  globe, 
and  in  all  vicissitudes :  but,  if  these  qualifications  be  wanting, 
societies  may  write  volumes  of  prescriptive  rules,  and  then 
commit  them  to  the  flames  as  soon  as  written,  for  their  proper- 
ty and  their  hopes  will  be  wrecked  together. 


memoir  of  dr.  carey.  171 

Journal  continued. 
'Jan.  11,  1796.  Malda.  On  my  journey  hither  I  met  a  letter 
from  the  Society,  which  accompanied  the  Sierra  Leone  report ; 
but  as  Mr.  Thomas  was  with  me  I  gave  him  the  letter,  and 
have  lost  the  date.  I  am,  from  not  having  it  by  me,  much  in- 
capacitated for  answering  it;  and  one  part,  I  acknowledge, 
ratlier  surprised  me :  I  mean  that  respecting  our  engaging  in 
employment  for  our  support.  I  always  understood  that  the  So- 
ciety recommended  it ;  it  is  true  they  did  not  specify  indigo 
business,  but  the  trade  in  timber  was  recommended,  and  the 
cultivation  of  the  ground  was  also  looked  upon  as  eligible. 
But  I  am  astonished  to  find  an  indigo  manufacturer  called  a 
merchant,  which  is  just  like  calling  a  journeyman  tailor  a 
merchant :  were  we  proprietors,  the  name  might  be  proper,  but 
we  have  only  had  a  promise  of  a  share,  and  whether  it  will  or 
will  not  be  given  we  know  not,  nor  do  wa  trouble  ourselves 
about  it.  We  receive  wages  adequate  to  the  maintenance  of 
our  families  ;  and  now  our  buildings  are  over,  I  think  no  line 
of  life  could  afford  us  more  leisure  or  opportunity  for  doing 
good.  To  vindicate  my  own  spirit  or  conduct,  I  should  be 
very  averse ;  it  is  a  constant  maxim  with  me,  that,  if  my  con- 
duct will  not  vindicate  itself,  it  is  not  worth  vindicating;  but 
we  really  thought  we  were  acting  in  conformity  with  the  uni- 
versal wishes  of  the  Society.  Whether  we  are  indolent  or 
laborious,  or  whether  '  the  spirit  of  the  missionary  is  swallow- 
ed up  in  the  pursuits  of  the  merchant,'  it  becomes  not  me  to 
say,  but  our  labors  will  speak  for  us.  I  only  say  that,  after  my 
family's  obtaining  a  bare  allowance,  my  whole  income,  and 
some  months  much  more,  goes  for  the  purposes  of  the  gospel, 
in  supporting  persons  to  assist  in  the  translation  of  the  Bible, 
write  copies,  teach  school,  and  the  like.  This  is  to  me  a  cer- 
tain and  constant  expense  of  thirty-three  rupees  per  month. 
But  this  I  rejoice  in,  and  would  not  lose  the  pleasure  of  it  for 
three  hundred  per  month.  I  only  mention  it  to  show  that  the 
love  of  money  has  not  prompted  me  to  pursue  the  plan  that  I 
have  engaged  in.  I  am  indeed  poor,  and  shall  always  be  so, 
till  the  Bible  is  published  in  Bengali  and  Hindostani,  and  the 
people  want  no  further  instruction.  I  may  also  just  remark, 
that  the  whole  of  our  buildings  gave  me  more  assistance  in 


172  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

learniiig  the  common  dialect,  than  any  thhig  else  could  have 
done  ;  and  the  numher  of  the  laborers  who  were  constantly 
to  be  attended  to,  could  not  make  less  than  a  year's  difference 
in  that  acquisition.  Since  the  acquiring  just  knowledge  enough 
to  be  barely  understood,  and  sometimes  to  have  my  meaning 
only  guessed  at,  I  have  felt  my  heart  more  and  more  enlarged, 
and  have  found  it  a  great  pleasure  to  discourse  upon  the  things 
of  the  gospel  to  them ;  but  I  cannot  command  success. 

'I  wish  to  say  something  about  the  manner  of  my  preach- 
ing, but  scarcely  know  how.  As  a  specimen,  however,  I  will 
just  describe  one  season  at  a  large  village,  about  four  miles 
from  Mudnabatty,  called  Chinsurah.  I  went  one  Lord's  day 
afternoon  to  this  place,  attended  by  a  few  persons  from  Mud- 
nabatty. Wlien  I  got  into  the  town,  I  saw  an  idolatrous  temple, 
built  very  finely  with  bricks.  In  order  to  excite  attention,  I 
asked  what  place  that  was ;  they  said  it  was  Thakoorannee, 
that  is,  a  debta.  I  asked  if  it  was  alive  ;  they  said,  yes ;  well, 
said  I,  I  will  see  her,  and  accordingly  went  towards  the  place, 
when  they  all  called  out,  'No,  sir,  no;  it  is  only  a  stone.'  I 
hov/ever  mounted  the  steps,  and  began  to  talk  about  the  folly 
and  Avickedness  of  idolatry.  A  bazar  or  market,  near,  was 
very  noisy ;  I  therefore  removed  to  a  little  distance  imder  a 
tamarind  tree,  where  we  began  by  singing  the  hymn,  '  O  who 
besides  can  deliver.'  By  this  time  a  pretty  large  concourse  of 
people  was  assembled,  and  I  began  to  discourse  with  them 
upon  the  things  of  God.  It  is  obvious  that  giving  out  a  text, 
and  regularly  dividing  it,  could  not  be  of  any  use  to  those  who 
never  heard  a  word  of  the  Bible  in  their  lives ;  I  therefore 
dwelt  upon  the  worth  of  the  soul  and  its  fallen  state,  the  guilt 
of  all  men  who  had  broken  God's  righteous  law,  and  the  im- 
possibility of  obtaining  pardon  without  a  full  satisfaction  to 
divine  justice.  I  then  inquired  what  way  of  life,  consistent 
with  the  justice  of  God,  was  proposed  in  any  of  their  Shastras. 
They,  said  I,  speak  of  nine  incarnations  of  Vishnu  past,  and 
one  to  come,  yet  not  one  of  them  for  the  salvation  of  a  sinner. 
They  were  only  to  preserve  a  family,  kill  a  giant,  make  war 
against  tyrants,  &c. ;  all  which  God  could  have  accomplished 
as  well  without  these  incarnations.  An  incarnation  of  the 
Deity,  said  I,  is  a  matter  of  too  great  importance  to  take  place 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  173 

in  so  ludicrous  *  a  manner,  and  for  such  mean  ends  and  pur- 
poses. The  Mutchee  Obeetar,  or  fish  incarnation,  said  I,  was 
to  become  tlie  rudder  of  a  boat,  and  preserve  a  family  in  a 
great  flood ;  and  the  wild  hog  incarnation  was  to  kill  a  giant, 
and  draw  up  the  earth  out  of  the  sea  when  it  was  sinking ; 
but  this,  God,  who  created  it,  coukl  have  accomplished  without 
any  such  interposition.  I  then  observed  how  miserable  they 
were,  whose  religion  only  respected  the  body,  and  whose 
Shastras  could  point  out  no  salvation  for  the  sinner.  I  then 
spoke  of  the  way  of  life  by  Christ,  his  substitution  in  our 
place,  suffering  in  the  sinner's  stead,  and  the  like. 

'At  another  place  I  preached  from  Christ  being  a  blessing, 
sent  to  bless  in  turning  every  one  from  his  iniquities.  I  ob- 
served the  superiority  of  the  gospel  to  all  other  writings,  and 
Christ  to  all  pretended  saviors  in  that  point ;  that  believing  on 
Christ  was  universally  accompanied  with  turning  from  iiiiqui- 
ty  ;  and  that  their  worship  must  be  false,  for  they  made  images 
and  offerings  to  them,  and  were  abundant  in  their  worship, 
but,  said  I,  there  is  not  a  man  of  you  yet  turned  from  his 
iniquity.  There  are  among  you  liars,  thieves,  whoremongers, 
and  men  filled  with  deceit.f  And  as  you  were  last  year,  so 
you  are  this,  not  any  more  holy ;  nor  can  you  ever  be  so,  till 
you  throw  off  your  wicked  worship  and  wicked  practices,  and 
embrace  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

'This  is  the  method  of  preaching  that  1  use  among  them; 
nothing  of  this  kind  affronts  them ;  many  wish  to  hear ;  many, 
however,  abhor  the  thoughts  of  the  gospel.  The  Brahmuns 
fear  to  lose  their  gain ;  the  higher  castes,  their  honor ;  and  the 
poor  tremble  at  the  vengeance  of  their  debtas.  Thus  we  have 
been  unsuccessful. 

'  I  sometimes  preach  twice  a  week,  sometimes  twice  a  day, 
as  opportunity  presents  itself;  and  the  translation  of  the  word 
of  God  is  my  every  day's  work. 

*  As  a  fish  ;  a  wild  hog;  a  tortoise;  a  thing  half  lion  and  half  man  ;  a  little  dwarf, 
who  begged  three  steps'  space  of  land  to  build  him  a  hut,  and  then  became  so  large 
as  to  measure  earth  with  one  pace  and  heaven  with  another,  and  could  not  find 
room  for  the  third  in  the  universe. 

f  These  are  all  sins  for  which  the  Hindus  are  notorious  ;  and  there  is  not  a  com- 
pany of  ten  men,  I  believe,  to  be  fallen  in  with,  but  you  might  safely  say  the  above 
words  to.  All  the  good  that  can  with  justice  be  said  of  them,  is,  they  are  not  so 
furious  as  many  other  heathens. 

16* 


174  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

'I  must  now  conclude,  having  scarcely  ever  written  so  long 
a  letter  in  my  life,  and  retaining  to  this  day  an  aversion  to 
writing  which  always  did,  and  I  fear  always  will,  attend  me. 

'  I  am  glad  the  mission  to  Africa  is  intended.  God  make  it 
prosperous !  Think  of  Thihet,  Pegu,  and  the  astonishingly 
large  part  of  Hindostan  to  the  west  and  to  the  north.  Thibet 
is  near  us ;  we  could  correspond  with  a  mission  at  Pegu,  or 
any  part  of  the  Rohillas  country ;  Oude,  Kashmeer,  Khabool, 
&c.,  though  very  far  from  us:  but  I  know  your  zeal ;  may  God 
give  you  resources  equal  to  .it ! 

'I  long  to  know  more  of  the  state  of  the  churches.  My  ac- 
counts in  every  letter  are  lamentably  deficient.  I  have  to 
write  to  twenty  correspondents ;  and  though  this  is  a  country 
in  which  scarcely  any  new  sceiies  appear,  but  all  is  the 
same  dull  round  of  stupidity  and  superstition  from  day 
to  day,  yet  I  am  expected  to  say  much  about  this  wonder- 
ful country  and  people.  Yet  all  my  friends  who  live  in  the 
midst  of  bustle  say  nothing  almost  about  it !  I  am  not  con- 
cerned about  politics  ;  I  see  the  Calcutta  papers,  and  T  think 
that  as  the  people  of  Europe  have  fallen  out,  so  they  must  fall 
in.  But  the  religious  state  of  the  world  is  very  important, 
and  the  aspects  of  the  political  world  towards  prophecy  and 
the  church  of  God,  I  wish  to  be  more  and  more  acquainted 
with. 

'  With  my  warmest  wishes  for  your  prosperity,  as  individu- 
als, as  ministers,  as  members  of  the  churches,  and  as  a 
society,  I  remain,  very  affectionately  yours, 

'  W.  Caret.' 

About  this  time  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  sent  two 
missionaries  to  Sierra  Leone ;  but  one  of  them  falling  ill,  and 
being  compelled  to  return  home,  and  the  other,  through  some 
interference  in  local  disputes,  being  advised  to  leave  the  settle- 
ment, the  society  thenceforward  concentrated  their  strength 
on  the  continent  of  India. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Thomas,  it  is 
presumed,  will  not  prove  uninteresting.  It  shows  how  esteem, 
and  even  harmony  and  affection,  may  exist  between  persons 
united  in  the  faith  of  great  principles,  and  in  the  promotion  of 
an  important  work,  in  connexion  with  much  and  even  painful 
diversity  of  individual  taste  and  temperament. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  175 

'  You  see  in  Mr.  Carey  and  myself  some  differences  in  taste, 
manners,  &c. ;  and  there  are  many  differences  between  us 
which  you  do  not  see.  Do  not  be  alarmed,  for  our  very  noses 
are  not  alike,  but  our  hearts  are  one :  we  may  differ  in  faces, 
but  not  in  hearts.  One  heart,  one  soul,  one  Lord,  one  faith, 
one  baptism.  There  may  be  one  Lord,  one  faith,  and  two 
baptisms  ;  but  this  is  like  a  house  on  fii-e  at  one  corner.  I  ad- 
mire the  grace  of  God,  for  knitting  together  different  people 
like  brother  Carey  and  myself;  for  we  never  differ  but  we 
agree  to  differ,  and  in  things  respecting  which  it  is  no  matter 
whether  we  differ  or  not.  We  often  fall  into  one  another's 
opinions,  always  delighted  to  see  each  other,  and  we  love  each 
other  fervently.  This  information,  though  you  have  had  it  be- 
fore, I  consider  far  from  uninteresting. 

'We  often  lay  our  heads  together,  and  form  large  plans,  for 
all  we  produce  such  little  executions  ;  but  we  have  difficulties 
you  know  nothing  of  Sore  troubles ;  implacable  enemies ; 
jealous  eyes  over  us ;  and  a  variety  of  opinions  formed  on  our 
conduct  and  designs.  Some  think  we  intend  at  bottom  to  turn 
this  part  of  the  world  upside  down,  as  missionaries ;  others 
think  we  have  quite  forsaken  the  mission,  and  gone  after  filthy 
lucre,  in  the  way  of  Balaam:  some  think  us  wise,  others  think 
us  foolish ;  some  sober,  others  mad :  and  all  these  contrary 
opinions  have  their  use,  perhaps.  On  this  paragraph,  I  could 
fill  a  ream  of  paper. 

'I  will  tell  you  of  one  of  our  difficulties.  The  people  here- 
abouts speak  a  mixed  language,  part  Persian,  part  Bengali,  and 
part  Hindostani,  or  the  Moor  language ;  so  that  we  do  not  un- 
derstand them,  nor  they  us,  half  so  well  as  though  we  were 
nearer  Calcutta ;  but  wherever  we  meet  with  Brahmuns,  the 
case  is  different.  The  majority  of  the  people  here  are  not 
Hindus,  but  Mahomedans.     Good  night.' 

'Jan.  13,  1796. 
'Government  has  required  of  every  individual  European, 
who  is  not  in  the  Company's  service,  to  give  in  their  names, 
places  of  abode,  time  of  arrival  in  this  country,  and  occupation ; 
in  order,  if  permitted  to  stay,  to  enter  into  covenant,  and  find 
two  securities  for  the  due  performance  of  it,  in  £2000  each,  or 
in  some  cases,  £500  each.     What  w^ould  have  become  of  us, 


176  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

by  this  time,  1  know  not,  if  we  had  not  been  engaged  in  the 
indigo  line.  This  matter  is,  however,  reckoned  highly  im- 
proper and  oppressive  on  the  part  of  the  Company,  and  some 
persons  have  refused  to  comply  with  it  altogether ;  particularly 
Mr.  Fairleigh,  in  Calcutta,  a  man  of  very  large  property,  who 
told  them  they  might  send  him  home  if  they  dared.  But  these 
great  words  cannot  be  uttered  out  of  little  mouths. 

'If  you  should,  at  any  time,  be  a  long  while  without  hearing 
from  us,  never  suspect  us  of  neglecting  to  write,  for  in  these 
times  many  letters  fall  short  of  their  destination  ;  and  it  does 
not  appear,  by  your  letter,  that  you  have  received  all  the  letters 
we  have  sent  you  ;  and  we  are  sure  we  have  not  received  all 
you  have  sent  us.  I  was  going  to  say,  I  should  be  sorry  if  the 
Society  had  any  body  belonging  to  it  more  firmly  attached  to 
it,  and  more  concerned  for  its  interests,  than  we  are:  in  a 
qualified  way,  you  will  understand  me. 

'I  wrote  you  word  that  I  had  sent  for  a  Bootan  Mounshi, 
but  he  is  not  yet  arrived.  The  Bootan  people  have  no  caste ; 
neither  have  the  Rajemal  Hill  people,  which  hills  are  inhabited 
by  a  people  of  a  very  different  appearance,  habits,  language, 
and  religion  from  the  Hindus.  These  hills  are  situated  about 
thirty  miles  from  Malda,  to  the  N.  E.  of  us,  and  Bootan  about 
eighty  or  a  hundred  miles  to  the  northward  of  us.  I  wish, 
with  all  my  soul,  that  three  or  four  young  men  and  their 
families  were  settled  among  the  Bootan  people,  and  four  on 
Rajemal  Hills.  Dr.  Coke  talked  of  sending  missionaries  there  ; 
and  if  he  did,  we  should  be  bound  to  help  them  all  in  our 
power.  At  present,  indeed,  we  have  but  maintenance  for  our- 
selves, for  the  indigo  was  almost  all  drowned  by  the  flood  of 
last  year :  otherwise,  we  had  agreed  together  to  lay  out  about 
£300  of  our  profits  in  printing  the  gospel,  in  such  parts  as  are 
ready;  and  other  large  sums  we  had  both  appropriated  to 
similar  purposes.  Indeed,  it  is  possible  that  one  good  season 
would  enable  me  to  pay  all  my  debts,  and  furnish  me  with 
overplus.  When  I  am  out  of  debt,  however,  I  intend  to  have 
less  to  do  with  indigo  than  I  have  now,  for  the  sake  of  the 
work  of  the  mission.  I  was  obliged  to  borrow  £100  last 
month  to  send  to  a  lawyer,  who  perhaps  had  put  me  in  gaol 
before  now,  if  I  had  not  been  in  my  present  connexion  and 
circumstances:  being  driven  by  my  creditors,  whose  patience 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  177 

is  worn  out,  he  might  have  done  so  ;  but  I  must  acknowledge 
the  great  civility  the  Calcutta  lawyers  have  constantly  shown 
me,  and  civility  seems  an  expression  hardly  good  enough  for 
them.  I  praise  God,  I  am  out  of  gaol ;  and  I  should  have 
praised  him  more,  perhaps,  if  I  had  been  in  it.' 


SECTION  IV. 

LETTERS  TO  MR.  FULLER — FEMALE  AGENCY LETTER  TO  MR. 

SUTCLIFF LETTER  FROM  MR.  FOUNTAIN  TO  MR.  FULLER 

LETTER  FROM  THE  SAME  TO  THE  SOCIETY LETTER  FROM 

THE  SAME  TO  MR.  SMITH,  OF  EAGLE  STREET,   LONDON 

LETTERS  FROM  MR.  CAREY  TO  HIS  SISTERS LETTER  TO  MR. 

FULLER, 

To  Mr.  Fuller. 

^  Mudnabatty,  June  17,  1796. 
*My  very  dear  brother, 

'  A  few  days  ago  I  received  yours  and  brother  Pearce's,  of 
August  last,  which  gave  me  very  great  pleasure ;  and,  could 
possibly  give  you  reciprocal  pleasure,  by  relating  the  success 
of  the  gospel,  my  heart  would  rejoice  ;  but,  instead  of  success, 
we  have  to  lament  appearances  being  more  against  us  than 
they  were.  I  have  been  forced,  for  the  honor  of  the  gospel,  to 
discharge  the  Mounshi,  who,  though  not  guilty  of  that  want  of 
fidelity  which  both  Mr.  Grant  and  Mr.  Udney  have  charged 
him  with,  was  yet  guilty  of  a  crime  which  required  this  step, 
considering  the  profession  he  had  made  of  the  gospel.  The 
discouragement  arising  from  this  circumstance  is  not  small,  as 
he  is  certainly  a  man  of  the  very  best  natural  abilities  that  I 
have  ever  found  among  the  natives,  and  being  well  acquainted 
with  the  phraseology  of  Scripture,  was  peculiarly  fitted  to  as- 
sist in  the  translation ;  but  I  have  now  no  hope  of  him.     The 


178  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

translation  is  going  on,  though  more  slowly  than  when  he  was 
here.  However,  almost  all  the  Pentateuch  and  the  New 
Testament  are  now  completed.  I  have  a  young  Pundit  with 
me  now,  who,  I  hope,  will  prove  useful,  though  I  yet  see 
nothing  promising  with  respect  to  the  great  point  of  all. 

'You  very  encouragingly  tell  us  not  to  faint,  if  we  see  no 
fruit  yet.  I  hope  and  trust  we  shall  not,  and  hope  you  also 
will  be  kept  from  discouragement  on  our  account.  I  feel  very 
much,  lest  the  friends  of  religion  should  faint  at  our  want  of 
success ;  and,  by  the  doubts,  &c.,  which  I  find  have  been 
plentiful,  on  account  of  our  engaging  in  business,  I  fear  some 
such  discouragement  has  already  taken  place.  I  hardly  think 
it  worth  while  to  notice  the  slander,  that  we  are  become  slave- 
drivers  ;  but  observe,  that  there  are  no  slaves  allowed  in  this 
country.  The  inhabitants  are  as  free  as  in  England,  for  what 
I  see,  and  are  paid  their  full  earnings  :  indeed,  were  it  refused, 
the  English  laws  would  oblige  to  it.  But  Mr.  G 's  opposi- 
tion to  the  work  I  think  abominable :  if  any  one  wounds  Mr. 
Thomas,  he  wounds  me ;  and  when  this  man  answers  every 
inquiry  with  '  1  could  say — but ' — or,  '  I  say  nothing  about  Mr. 
T.,  because  I  shall  be  thought  prejudiced;'  this  is  wounding 
his  character  deeper  by  a  half  silence  than  he  could  possibly 
do  by  the  most  direct  accusation.  The  fact  is  this,  as  can  be 
proved  by  a  long  correspondence  between  him  and  Mr.  T., 
now  in  preservation,  that  Mr.  T.  left  a  much  more  lucrative 
employment,  and  the  society  of  his  family,  at  Mr.  G.'s  desire, 
to  preach  the  gospel  among  the  natives ;  who  afterwards,  be- 
cause he  would  not  conform  to  his  peremptory  dictates,  in 
matters  which  he  could  not  conscientiously  do,  cut  off  all  his 
supplies,  and  left  him  to  shift  for  himself  in  a  foreign  land,  and 
is  now,  by  inuendoes,  ruining  his  character.  I  feel  nothing  at 
what  he  says  of  my  credulity  and  sanguineness.  I  may  have 
thought  better  of  the  natives  of  this  country  at  my  first  coming 
than  I  find  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  with  them  wall  war- 
rant, and  I  certainly  expected  more  success  than  has  attended 
us  at  present.  But  I  wrote  the  warm  effusions  of  my  own 
heart  at  the  moment  to  friends,  not  dreaming  of  the  severity  of 
criticism  being  spent  upon  it ;  and  so  I  write  now,  and  I  be- 
lieve always  shall.  I  make  it  a  point  to  think  well  of  a  person 
till  I  see  sufficient  reason  to  alter  my  opinion.    I  had  seen  only 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARIIY.  179 

flattering  appearances  then,  and  on  the  basis  of  those  appear- 
ances I  wrote.  It  does  not  belong  to  me  to  vindicate  Capt. 
Christmas.  I  did  not  know  or  inquire  whether  he  was  a  Dane 
or  an  Englishman  ;  but  if  it  were  as  Mr.  G.  says,  I  think  he 
took  a  lawful  method  to  trade  where  the  English  law  forbade 
him  to  trade  as  an  Englishman ;  but  I  believe  he  had  a 
station  in  the  Danish  army  or  navy,  prior  to  his  naturaliza- 
tion, and  was  naturalized  on  that  account:  but  I  am  not 
sure. 

'  Mr.  T.  and  I  are  men,  and  fallible  ;  but  we  can  only  desert 
the  work  of  preaching  the  word  of  life  to  the  Hindus  with  our 
lives,  and  are  determined,  through  grace,  to  hold  on,  though 
our  discouragements  were  a  thousand  times  greater  than  they 
are.  We  have  the  same  ground  of  hope  with  our  brethren 
in  England,  viz.,  the  promise,  power,  and  faithfulness  of  God ; 
for  unless  his  mercy  break  the  heart  of  stone,  either  in  Eng- 
land, India,  or  Africa,  nothing  will  be  done  effectually;  and 
he  can  as  easily  convert  a  superstitious  Brahmun  as  an  English- 
man. 

'  With  respect  to  printing  the  Bible,  I  fear  that  is  distant 
enougli.  As  in  the  forementioned  case  at  Day-hotta,  so  here, 
we  were  perhaps  too  sanguine ;  but,  though  means  have 
hitherto  failed,  we  are  as  much  resolved  as  ever  to  give  our  all 
to  that  work.  But,  for  the  reasons  mentioned  by  brother 
Pearce,  I  think  it  will  be  better  for  at  least  £100  per  annum 
to  be  remitted  hither  by  the  Society,  which  shall  be  applied 
to  the  purposes  of  printing  the  Bible  and  educating  the 
youth ;  and  what  we  do  shall  be  done  as  a  contribution  to  the 
Society. 

'  I  think  it  very  important  to  send  more  missionaries  hither. 
We  may  die  soon,  and  if  we  have  no  successors  in  the  work,  it 
will  be  a  lamentable  circumstance,  and  very  much  retard  the 
spread  of  the  gospel.  It  is  very  important  to  have  a  suc- 
cession to  hold  forth  the  word  of  life  where  the  work  is 
begun. 

'I  am  obliged  to  finish,  as  the  post  is  going;  but  must  say, 
that  the  pleasure  afforded  by  the  two  missionaries  being  sent 
to  Africa  is  very  great ;  and  much  heightened  by  the  account 
of  the  other  denominations  of  Christians  uniting  in  a  society  to 
send  the  word  of  life  to  the  South  Seas.     Surely  God  is  on 


180  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

his  way.  If  success  does  not  immediately  attend  every 
effort,  do  not  be  discouraged.  God  will  surely  appear,  and 
build  up  Zion ! 

'  My  kind  Christian  love  to  all  your  friends,  especially  those 
of  my  more  intimate  acquaintance,  and  all  the  ministers  of  the 
gospel.  Best  remembrances  to  Mrs.  Fuller.  We  are  well  in 
health,  except  that  my  poor  wife  is  in  a  very  distressing  state 
of  mind:  not  maniacal,  it  is  true,  but  afflicted  with  the  species 
of  insanity  described  by  Dr.  Arnold  under  the  name  of  ideal 
insanity. 

'  I  conclude.  '  Very  affectionately  yours, 

'W.Carey.' 

To  Mr.  Fuller. 

'Mudnabatty,  :N'ov.  16,  1796. 
'  My  very  dear  Brother, 

'I  have  within  a  few  days  received  your  letters,  and  a  P.  S. 
to  a  letter  from  our  dear  brother  Pearce.  From  this  irregular- 
ity in  my  receiving  your  letters,  and  my  other  correspondents' 
also,  you  will  easily  account  for  apparent  neglect  in  answering 
them.  Had  I  received  these  communications  in  proper  time, 
some  answers  to  your  former  letters,  in  vindication  of  our- 
selves, would  have  been  spared,  as  I  now  see  that  the  Society 
have  very  effectually  done  what  we  thought  was  reasonable  to 
be  done ;  but  some  letters  from  the  Society  have  been  first 
seen  by  us  in  Rippon's  Register. 

'  You  have  heard  that  Mr.  U.  has  had  great  losses.  I  will, 
depending  on  your  not  uttering  any  thing  on  that  head,  men- 
tion some  of  them,  because  they  are  connected  with  our  affairs. 
The  house  that  failed  at  Calcutta,  happily  did  not  hurt  Mr.  U.'s 
credit,  but  ruined  him  in  his  property.  It  was  conducted  under 
the  firm  of  his  brother  and  two  others,  but  Mr.  U.  was  the  sup- 
porter of  it:  all  their  bills  were  signed  by  him,  and  he  has  had 
bills  returned  upon  him  for  payment  to  the  amount  of  nearly 
£20,000  sterling,  on  account  of  that  house.  A  ship,  the  reputed 
property  of  the  house,  but  really  his,  and  almost  wholly  laden 
with  his  property,  of  a  very  rich  kind,  was  taken  by  the  French  ; 
and  other  particulars  have  occurred  which  are  very  calamitous. 
Previously  to  this,  Mr.  U.  had  begun  these  two  indigo  works! 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  181 

and  had  sent  natives  to  choose  the  places,  who,  very  unhappil3^, 
chose  the  most  improper  that  coukl  be  thought  of,  owing  to 
their  ignorance  in  agricuhure.  My  place  cannot  be  tenable 
much  longer.  Moypal  may  ;  but,  owing  to  large  floods  which 
have  destroyed  the  whole  crop  almost  every  successive  year, 
it  follows  that  the  whole  expense  of  erecting  the  works, 
amounting  to  about  £10,000  sterling,  is  outstanding,  without 
any  adequate  returns.  We  have,  in  consequence,  only  our  two 
hundred  rupees  per  month,  our  commission  being  nothing 
worth  mentioning.  All  these  circumstances  have  much  re- 
duced dear  Mr.  U.,  and  he  cannot  help  as  formerly. 

'Mr.  Thomas  is  a  man  of  great  closet  piety,  and  has  lately 
preached  much  among  the  natives.  I  have  great  hope  of  some 
people  there,  and  am  not  without  hope  of  one  here.  Mr.  T.  is 
very  compassionate  to  the  poor ;  and  in  instructing  those  who 
are  inquiring,  he  is  indefatigable :  he  has  excellent  aptness  for 
that  work,  being  perhaps  one  of  the  most  affectionate  and  close 
exhorters  to  genuine  godliness,  and  a  close  walk  with  God, 
that  can  be  thought  of  The  natives  who  appear  under  con- 
cern heie,  are  all  Mussulmans.  1  went  out  one  Monday  morn- 
ing, when  a  poor  laboring  man,  named  Sookman,  very  earnestly 
desired  to  know  '  what  he  must  do  to  be  saved.'  Two  more 
made  the  same  inquiry,  adding,  '  We  heard  you  yesterday,  when 
you,  having  showed  the  danger  we  were  in  of  going  to  hell,  in- 
quired 'Whither  will  you  flee  from  his  spirit?  whither  will  you 
flee  from  his  presence?'  We  knew  we  were  unacquainted 
with  the  way  of  life,  and  our  peers  (canonized  saints,  long  since 
dead)  cannot  help  us;  for  if  the  master  be  angry,  what  can  the 
servant  do?  You  have  told  us  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  who  is  he  ? 
How  shall  we  be  saved?'  I  talked  much  with  them  almost 
every  day ;  but  two,  whose  names  were  Tuphanee,  and  Jung- 
loo,  soon  ceased  their  inquiries.  Sookman  still  gives  me  hope, 
though  it  is  three  months  since  the  inquiry  began.  I  wrote  this 
immediately  to  brother  Thomas,  who  informed  me  that  some 
were  also  inquiring  at  Moypal.  When  brother  Fountain 
arrived,  I  went  over  with  him  ;  and  I  am  sure  he  saw  much 
more  encouragement  the  first  Sabbath  than  we  had  seen  in 
three  years.  Three  people  there  are  under  very  hopeful  con- 
cern indeed ;  they  are  all  laborers,  Mussulmans ;  their  names 
are  Yardee,  Doorgottea,  and  another  whose  name  I  have  for- 
17 


182  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

gotten.  There  was  another  named  Assamtiilla,  and  a  blind 
woman;  but  these  do  not  appear  so  hopeful  to  me  as  the 
others.  Yardee  is  a  man  of  good  natural  abilities,  and  has  a 
great  aptness  in  conveying  his  ideas,  and  is  a  hlessing  to  the 
rest;  the  other  two  have  notiiing  of  those  fine  natural  abilities 
that  Yardee  appears  to  have,  but  the  work  seems  to  be  solid. 
I  was  in  hopes  of  sending  you  an  account  of  their  baptism,  but 
that  has  not  yet  taken  place.  I  however  expect  it  soon.  There 
is  a  stir  at  Moypai  all  around  the  country,  and  many  come  to 
hear  the  word ;  I  suppose  near  a  hundred.  Here  it  is  not  so, 
and  poor  Sookman  stands  alone. 

*  I  must  now  just  tell  you  my  thoughts  about  the  mission. 
Brother  Fountain  is  safely  arrived,  and  gives  us  pleasure ;  but 
our  affairs,  as  a  mission,  are  in  a  delicate  situation.  I  have 
written  what  I  think  of  brother  Thomas's  affairs.  This  place 
I  expect  must  be  given  up.  Mr.  U.  has  not  mentioned  any 
thing,  but  I  have  written  to  him  all  that  I  think  about  it. 
However,  the  experience  obtained  here  I  look  upon  as  the 
very  thing  which  will  tend  to  support  the  mission.  I  now 
know  all  the  methods  of  agriculture  that  are  in  use.  I  know 
the  tricks  of  the  natives,  and  the  nature  of  the  lowest  rate  of 
housekeeping  in  this  country.  Having  had  a  monthly  allow- 
ance, I  have  made  all  experiments  on  these  heads,  which 
could  not  have  been  made  without  ruin,  had  I  not  had  these 
resources;  and  I  will  now  propose  to  you,  what  I  would  re- 
commend to  the  Society :  you  will  find  it  similar  to  what  the 
Moravians  do.  Seven  or  eight  families  can  be  maintained  for 
nearly  the  same  expense  as  one,  if  this  method  be  pursued.  I 
then  earnestly  entreat  the  Society  to  set  their  faces  this  way, 
and  send  out  more  missionaries.  We  ought  to  be  seven  or 
eight  families  together;  audit  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
wives  of  missionaries  to  be  as  hearty  in  the  work  as  their 
husbands.  Our  families  should  be  considered  nurseries  for 
the  mission  ;  and  among  us  should  be  a  person  capable  of 
teaching  school,  so  as  to  educate  our  children.  I  recommend 
all  living  together,  in  a  number  of  little  straw  houses,  forming 
a  line  or  square,  and  of  having  nothing  of  our  own,  but  all  the 
general  stock.  One  or  two  should  be  selected  stewards  to 
preside  over  all  the  management,  which  should,  with  respect 
to   eating,   drinking,   working,   worship,   learning,   preaching, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  183 

excursions,  &c.,  be  reduced  to  fixed  rules.  Should  the  above- 
mentioned  natives  join  us,  all  should  be  considered  equal,  and 
all  come  under  the  same  regulations.' 

In  the  work  of  missions,  especially  in  the  educational  de- 
partment, as  much  depends  upon  the  endowments  and  devoted- 
ness  of  females,  as  upon  those  of  their  husbands.  The  work 
of  female  education  in  India  is  conducted  entirely  by  the  wives 
of  missionaries,  or  by  such  pious  females  as  are  sent  out  under 
the  auspices  of  different  institutions  for  that  purpose.  A 
society  is  now  in  operation,  consisting  of  ladies  of  piety  and 
evangelical  sentinjents,  without  regard  to  denominational 
peculiarity,  for  selecting  and  affording  protection,  and,  if  need- 
ed, support,  to  ladies  who  are  deemed  suitable  for  the  work, 
and  are  disposed  to  consecrate  their  talents  for  the  literary  and 
religious  improvement  of  their  own  sex  in  China  and  the  East. 
Its  designs  and  its  principles  well  entitle  it  to  the  approbation 
and  cordial  support  of  the  religious  world.  The  usages  of 
society  in  eastern  countries  are  such  as  to  bar  access  to  the 
female  population,  except  by  their  own  sex;  and  when  women 
are  converted  to  the  faith,  their  religious  principles  and  con- 
duct require  a  constant  vigilance,  and  wisdom,  and  condescen- 
sion in  their  superintendence,  different  from,  and  far  beyond 
what  men  either  can  or  will  bestow. 

'The  utility  of  this  community  of  goods  in  the  beginning  of 
the  gospel  church  here,  will  be  obvious,  by  considering  the 
following  things:  1.  Our  finances  being  small,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  live  economically;  but  one  set  of  servants  will  do 
all  the  work  for  the  whole,  if  thus  organized,  when,  if  other- 
wise, every  separate  family  must  have  the  same  number  as 
would  be  necessary  for  the  whole  if  united :  and,  if  God  con- 
verts the  natives,  they  would  in  time  supersede  all  want  of 
servants,  being  partakers  of  the  public  stock,  and  therefore 
bound  to  labor  for  the  public  benefit.  2.  Education  of  our 
own  and  converted  heathens'  children  is  a  very  important 
object,  and  is  what  might,  if  followed  by  a  divine  blessing, 
train  up  some  of  them  to  be  useful  preachers  or  other  members 
of  the  mission  themselves.  3.  The  example  of  such  a  number 
would  be  a  standing  witness  of  the  excellence  of  the  gospel, 
and  would  contribute  very  much  to  the  furtherance  of  the 
cause  of  Christ.     4.  Industry  being  absolutely  necessary,  every 


184  MEMOIR   OK    DR.  CAREY. 

one  would  have  his  proper  work  allotted  him,  and  would  be 
employed  at  his  post ;  some  cultivating  land,  some  instructing, 
some  learning,  some  preaching,  and  the  women  superintend- 
ing the  domestic  concerns. 

'In  order  to  this,  I  recommend  about  one  or  two  hundred 
biggahs  to  be  cultivated  for  the  mission,  which  would  produce 
most  of  the  articles  necessary  for  them  and  their  cattle;  that 
all  these  people  should  not  come  at  one  time,  but  one  or  two 
families  in  a  year,  or  in  two  years  or  so.  But  as  brother  T., 
for  obvious  reasons,  could  not  join  this  family,  and  for  others 
as  obvious  to  me  would  not,  except  he  had  the  sole  direction, 
in  which  case  all  would  fail,  and  as  there  is  a  far  greater  prob- 
ability of  his  being  torn  from  the  work  than  not,  we  are  in 
immediate  want  of  more,  say  one  family  more,  of  missionaries  ; 
and  I  entreat  the  Society  to  send  them,  as  the  only  Avay  of 
keeping  the  mission  together:  but  pray  be  very  careful  what 
stamp  missionaries'  wives  are  of. 

'  Should  this  place  be  continued  to  me,  I  recommend  the 
seat  of  the  mission  to  be  here ;  and  my  income  and  utensils 
will  be  immediately  thrown  into  the  common  stock.  Or  any 
part  of  Bengal  Avould  do ;  though  the  north  is  most  agreeable, 
and  will  produce  wheat,  a  very  necessary  article:  the  heat 
also  is  more  moderate.  Should  we  go  south,  the  neighborhood 
of  Nuddea  is  most  eligible  ;  but  I  fear  too  near  Calcutta.  All 
provisions  also  are  much  cheaper  in  the  north  ;  and  by  keep- 
ing a  small  boat,  which  can  be  bought  for  thirty  rupees, 
two  persons  may  travel  any  where  at  a  time.  Cultivation, 
and  all  except  superintendence,  must  be  performed  by 
natives. 

*  Expense.  The  number  of  servants  kept  would  fall  under 
two  hundred  rupees  per  montli,  I  think  about  a  hundred  and 
thirty :  and  the  expenses  of  clothing  and  articles  of  furniture 
would  be  near  one  hundred  for  the  number  mentioned.  The 
table  might  be  well  supplied  for  all  above  mentioned,  for  one 
hundred  rupees  at  furthest,  I  think  for  sixty ;  but  I  say  the 
utmost.  Now,  if  eight  families  were  distinct,  their  monthly 
expenses  could  not,  with  the  utmost  frugality,  come  under  one 
thousand  rupees  per  month  :  the  whole  of  this  would  onh^  be 
four  hundred,  and  the  produce  of  the  land  would  be  to  lessen 
even  that;  so  that  we  should  receive  from  the  Society,  for  such 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  185 

a  number,  £30  per  month,  or  £3G0  per  annum,  till  we  were 
able  to  say  we  could  do  with  less.  It  would  be  a  great  saving 
of  even  this,  if  the  Society  were  to  send  £50  a  year  of  this 
in  woollen  cloths,  light  shoes,  strong  stockings,  hats,  and 
garden  seeds:  this  £50  would  save  the  mission  about  £100 
or  £150  a  year.  Having  said  thus  much,  I  recommend  it  to 
your  serious  consideration.  The  calculations  may  all  be  de- 
pended on. 

'Translating  the  Bible.  I  have,  through  the  good  hand  of 
my  God  upon  me,  now  nearly  translated  all  the  New  Testa- 
ment. I  have  begun  the  seventh  chapter  of  Revelations,  and 
all  the  other  is  translated  except  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
which  I  left  to  Mr.  T.  He  has  not,  however,  touched  it 
scarcely ;  the  gospel  by  Luke  is  all  he  has  done  in  translating 
since  he  came  into  tlie  country.  1  have  a  Pundit,  who  has, 
with  me,  examined  and  corrected  all  the  Epistles,  to  the  second 
of  Peter;  we  go  through  a  chapter  every  day.  The  natives, 
who  can  read  and  write,  understand  it  perfectly ;  and  as  it  is 
corrected  by  a  learned  native,  the  style  and  syntax  cannot  be 
very  bad.  I  intend  to  go  through  it  again,  and,  as  critically  as 
I  can,  compare  it  with  the  Greek  Testament ;  but  wish  to  have 
a  Greek  Concordance  sent  by  the  very  next  conveyance.  I 
expect  the  New  Testament  will  be  complete  before  you  receive 
this,  except  a  very  few  words,  which  may  want  altering  on  a 
third  and  fourth  revisal.  1  have  made  much  use  of  Doddridge's 
Family  Expositor  in  the  work,  and  now  wish  the  printing  to 
be  thought  of  It  will  be  at  least  two  years,  now,  before  com- 
munications, &c.,  respecting  printing,  will  arrive  from  Eng- 
land ;  in  which  time  every  correction  may  be  certainly  put  to 
it.  I  was  in  hope  of  printing  it  at  my  own  expense ;  but  the 
unfavorable  situation  of  these  works  for  the  production  of 
indigo,  has  kept  me  incapable  of  doing  that.  I  thought  of 
going  to  Calcutta  and  ascertaining  the  expense  of  printing,  but 
cannot  go  now.  Mr.  Thomas,  however,  has  ascertained  that 
some  years  ago,  paper  and  printing  here  must  amount  to  two 
anas  a  sheet,  or  about  fourpence  English.  Owing  to  the  large- 
ness of  the  tyi)es,  the  number  of  sheets  could  not  be  less  than 
thirty-five,  or  two  hundred  and  eighty  pages,  quarto.  Suppose 
ten  thousand  copies  were  printed,  as  they  must  be  given  away, 
the  expense  would  be  43,750  rupees,  or  £4,400  sterling,  an 
17* 


186  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY* 

enormous  sum.  Now  Caslon  promised  to  cut  founts  for  five 
shillings  each.  If  the  number  of  characters  is  six  hundred, 
the  punches  would  be  cut  for  £150,  and  the  number  of  types 
necessary  would  be  bought  for  half  a  crown  per  pound, 
amounting  to  about  £500  to  print  the  whole  Bible.  Should 
this  plan  be  eligible,  a  press  must  be  sent  out;  and  if  a  serious 
printer  could  be  found  willing  to  engage  in  the  mission,  he 
would  be  a  great  blessing  to  it,  to  superintend,  for  natives 
would  do  the  work.  Paper  should  also  be  sent  from  England, 
it  being  near  two  hundred  per  cent,  dearer  here  than  there, 
Such  a  printer  I  knew  at  Derby  before  I  left  England.  We 
can  get  thirty-two  thousand  letters  written  for  a  rupee ;  but 
this  is  a  great  expense,  and  the  errors  that  must  get  into  every 
copy  could  not  possibly  be  all  corrected.  Mr.  T.  has  had 
letters  written  near  two  years  for  types,  by  a  native,  a  very 
good  writer;  but  they  require  examining,  which  are  proper 
for  types  to  be  cast  to.  He  has  not  done  that  in  all  this  time, 
and  is  so  backward,  I  fear  he  never  will.  He  talks  of  making 
all  the  letters  himself,  but  I  fear  it  will  never  be  done.  I  will 
try  and  get  those  written  by  the  native,  and  send  them,  if  he 
will  part  with  them. 

'  Thus  I  have  opened  all  my  mind  to  you  respecting  the 
mission  and  all  my  connections.  I  only  entreat  you  to  be 
careful  not  to  make  known  some  circumstances,  as  they  may 
do  much  harm,  but  cannot  do  any  good.  I  was  in  hope  Mr. 
T.  might  have  had  a  very  favorable  season  or  two,  which 
would  have  extricated  him  ;  but  I  have  no  hope  now  :  if  I  had, 
I  should  not  have  been  so  explicit. 

'  Should  more  missionaries  come  over,  it  will  be  necessary 
for  the  Society  to  devise  some  means  to  give  us  leave  to  use 
the  names  of  some  individuals,  as  bondsmen  to  the  Company  on 
their  account.  The  Company  sent  out  orders  that  all  Euro- 
peans who  are  not  in  the  Company's  service  shall  take  out 
certificates  as  free  merchants,  or  persons  permitted  to  stay  in 
India  for  a  certain  time.  The  bonds  for  the  first  are  very 
great,  for  the  second  more  moderate  ;  but  I  cannot  specify  the 
particulars.  Bondsmen  are  to  be  creditable  people,  either  in 
England  or  here  ;  and  the  obligation  is,  that  the  persons  res- 
ident in  India  shall  not,  on  any  account,  become  chargeable  to 
the  Company,  or  on  any  account  sue  the  Company  in  a  court 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  187 

of  law.  I  imagine  the  orders  to  this  purpose  may  be  obtained 
in  England,  and  then  you  would  see  the  whole.  Mr.  U.  and  a 
Mr.  Creighton  offered  themselves  as  my  securities,  and  Mr.  U. 
and  1  are  offered  as  security  for  Mr.  T.,  and  Mr.  T.  and  I  for 
Mr.  Powel.  I  have  now  proposed  that  Mr.  Powel  and  I  should 
offer  ourselves  for  brother  Fountain.  The  whole  is  a  mere 
matter  of  form,  and  is  designed  to  prevent  people  of  desperate 
fortunes  coming  to  India.  Numbers  have  obsolutely  refused 
to  regard  the  regulations  at  all ;  but  I  think  we  should  study 
peaceableness  and  obedience  to  the  laws.  It  will  therefore  be 
necessary  that  we  should  be  able  to  propose  two  respectable 
names,  on  an  emergency,  and  to  produce  letters  authorizing  us 
to  do  so.  Query,  also,  whether  it  will  be  better  at  once  to 
avow  our  errand,  or  to  do  as  we  have  hitherto  done,  that  is, 
appear  as  people  of  a  secular  profession  ;  for  it  is  necessary  to 
specify  our  abode  and  employment.  Though  Sir  John  Shore 
well  knows  our  real  business,  yet  we  have  always  been  de- 
nominated indigo-makers  hitherto.  By  the  by,  I  have  heard 
some  very  favorable  accounts  of  Sir  John  Shore's  possessing 
genuine  religion  in  his  heart;  he  is  certainly  very  friendly  to 
Mr.  Brown,  and  Mr.  Brown  speaks  very  highly  of  him. 

'Mr.  Fountain  arrived  quite  unexpectedly,  and,  except  a  hint 
or  two  in  a  letter  from  England,  some  months  before  his  arri- 
val, we  had  not  heard  a  syllable  of  his  coming  out.  He  there- 
fore arrived  at  Mudnabatty  before  I  knew  of  his  arrival  in  In- 
dia, and  took  me  quite  by  surprise.  He  appears  to  be  a  very 
promising  person,  and  I  hope  his  abilities  will  be  good.  He  is 
learning  under  my  Pundit.  I  advise  him  to  keep  only  one 
servant ;  and  with  him,  and  now  and  then  giving  a  small  pres- 
ent to  my  servants,  I  think  he  will  do  very  well.  On  this  plan 
he  may  do  with  about  thirty  rupees  per  month,  which  will 
be  necessary  for  clothing  and  other  small  expenses.  A  sin- 
gle person,  if  he  keep  no  Mounshi,  may  live  for  sixty  rupees 
per  month,  and  not  less ;  but  on  this  plan  thirty  will  do.  I 
wish  I  could  maintain  him  altogether,  but  cannot :  I  just  make 
both  ends  meet,  and  bless  God  I  can  do  that.  Servants  are 
the  grave  of  money  here,  and  are  indispensable:  the  caste 
makes  so  many  necessary.  Be  very  careful  that  the  mission- 
aries be  charged  to  say  nothing  about  politics  on  their  first  ar- 
rival, during  their  stay  in   Calcutta ;  and  for  the  first  three 


188  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

months,  is  all  the  danger ;  afterwards,  political  fire  will  go  out 
for  want  of  fuel.  I  believe  brother  Fountain  was  pretty 
watchful  there,  but  some  expressions  uttered  here  must  be 
buried.  We  have  warned  and  charged  him,  and  I  believe 
he  will  be  careful.  Thirty  pounds,  the  sum  given  to  Mr. 
Fountain,  is  too  little  for  pocket  money  on  an  Indian  voyage  : 
if  the  ship  puts  in  any  where,  the  missionaries  will  be  dis- 
tressed, as  stay  at  any  place  depends  on  winds,  weather,  &c., 
and  at  all  places  where  ships  put  in,  all  accommodations  are 
very  exorbitant.  Brother  Fountain  was  obliged  to  contract 
debt  at  Calcutta  to  enable  him  to  get  up  here.  Travelling 
here  is  amazingly  expensive,  and  a  new  comer  is  cheated 
through  both  ears.  Should  I  have  occasion  to  draw  on  the 
Society  on  Mr.  Fountain's  account,  it  shall  not  exceed  the  thir- 
ty rupees  per  month,  and  I  trust  the  Society  will  honor  the 
draft,  which  must  be  on  the  treasurer. 

'  I  have  now,  I  believe,  said  nearly  all  about  ourselves.  I 
rejoice  to  hear  of  such  a  spirit  of  activity  and  holiness  pre- 
vailing in  England :  surely  God  is  on  his  way,  and  great  things 
are  on  the  eve  of  accomplishment.  I  am  glad  at  my  heart  to 
hear  of  the  prosperity  of  Leicester.  Wars  may  not  end  yet, 
perhaps,  for  God  has  said,  '  The  nation  and  kingdom  that  will 
not  serve  thee  shall  be  utterly  destroyed,'  and  perhaps  it  will 
be  by  war.  I  wish  you  had  sent  me  Edwards's  piece  (Miscel- 
lanies) just  published:  not  Edwards  of  Portsea.  I  know  him, 
and  his  piece,  I  suppose,  cannot  be  without  much  self-confi- 
dence in  it.  Your  piece  on  Socinianism  I  bless  God  for,  and 
rejoice  in  its  run.  I  trust  it  will  be  productive  of  good.  My 
love  to  your  four  friends  who  sent  me  the  magazines  ;  I  do  not 
know  them,  but  this  testimony  of  their  esteem  is  so  much  the 
greater.  1  hope  you  will  yearly  send  us  a  volume  of  this  ex- 
cellent work. 

'  Give  my  most  aflfectionate  regards  to  all  your  people,  es- 
pecially those  with  whom  I  am  more  immediately  acquainted. 
Mrs.  Fuller,  though  unknown,  will  accept  of  my  Christian  re- 
spects ;  and  my  love  in  Christ,  and  every  other  way,  most 
heartily  flows  to  you. 

'  Yours,  very  aflfectionately, 

'  W.  Carey. 

'  My  family  are  well.     I  have  lost  one  son,  and  had  one   son 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  189 

born  since  here,  so  that  my  number  is  now  four.  My  sister  is 
well,  and  I  have  heard  very  encouraging  accounts  of  her  hus- 
band. 

'  With  regard  to  myself,  I  am  very  low  respecting  the  prog- 
ress of  the  work  of  God.  Yet  we  never  had  so  much  reason 
for  encouragement  as  we  have  now ;  and  I  trust  we  have  some 
general  revival  in  our  own  souls.  1  love  the  work,  and  trust  it 
will  triumph. 

'  Should  you  want  missionaries,  Mr.  Yates,  of  Leicester,  has 
told  me  in  a  letter,  that  he  will  come,  if  it  can  be  proved  that 
he  can  be  more  useful  here  than  at  Leicester ;  which  is  self- 
evident,  and  therefore  wants  no  proof.  Such  men  as  farmers, 
gardeners,  potters,  &c.,  would  be  the  most  useful  men,  if  other 
qualifications  are  not  wanting.  It  will  be  proper  for  them  to 
have  exercised  their  gifts  before  their  being  sent.  It  is  also 
singular  that  no  letter  from  the  Society  accompanied  brother 
Fountain.  My  warmest  Christian  love  to  all  the  ministers.  I 
intend  to  write  to  as  many  as  I  can.' 

To  Mr.  Sutclipf. 

'  Mudnabattij,  JVov.  22,  1796. 

*  My    VERY   DEAR    BrOTHER, 

'Yours  of  Jan.  5,  reached  me  very  lately,  and  I  am  sure  was 
a  messenger  of  good  to  my  soul.  I  am,  blessed  be  God,  in 
good  health.  I  have  had  a  very  painful  abscess  in  the  side  of 
my  throat,  for  which  I  was  obliged  to  undergo  a  surgical  ope- 
I'ation  ;  but  it  is  now  well.  My  family  are  well.  I  have  anoth- 
er son,  named  Jonathan,  instead  of  Peter,  who  died.  Brother 
Fountain  arrived  about  a  month  ago.  He  came  into  our 
house,  and  found  me,  with  my  Pundit,  poring  over  old  Sanscrit 
words,  before  I  had  any  intelligence  of  his  arrival  in  the  coun- 
try. 

'  We  have  had  great  discouragements,  especially  through  the 
fall  of  poor  Ram  Boshoo,  who  was  guilty  of  adultery,  and  is  gone 
far  from  us.  Mohun  Chund  was  with  me  ;  but  I  had  supported 
him  some  months,  and  found  that  my  income  would  not  be  suffi- 
cient to  continue  to  do  so.  My  schoolmaster  also  went  with 
Mounshi,  so  that  at  once  Mounshi  and  Mohund  Chund  went 
away,  and  the  school  was  broken  up.  I,  however,  pursued  preach- 
ing, expounding  and  translating,  and  trust  a  gleam  of  light  again 


190  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

presents  itself.  A  laboring  man  here,  named  Sookman,  and 
three  at  Moypal,  named  Yardee,  Doorgottea,  and  another, 
whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  appear  to  be  in  earnest  about 
eternal  things.  Two  others  here  began  to  inquire  when  Sook- 
man did,  but  soon  got  cool.  I  am  not  without  hope  that  some 
good  may  be  found  in  others  at  Moypal.  At  this  place,  all  ap- 
pear dead  and  discouraging,  except  Sookman  ;  but  there  is  a 
great  stir  all  over  the  neighborhood,  and  many  come  to  hear 
the  word.  This  is,  in  some  degree,  owing  to  Yardee,  who  is  a 
man  of  a  sweet  natural  temper,  good  abilities,  a  readiness  to 
discourse  with  others,  and  a  zeal  for  Cluist.  I  hope  some  of 
them  will  be  soon  baptized.  The  officer  about  whom  1  wrote, 
I  fear,  is  different  from  what  I  and  others  thought  him ;  his 

name  is  Capt. .     Mr.  U.  has  been  in  his  company  since  I 

wrote  to  you  ;  thinks  him  a  good  man,  but  amazingly  enthusi- 
astic, and  perhaps  a  little  deranged. 

'The  translation  of  the  New  Testament  is  nearly  finished, 
and  once  corrected.  The  eleventh  chapter  of  Revelations  is 
done,  and  the  second  Epistle  of  Peter  corrected.  Only  the 
other  eleven  chapters  of  the  Revelation,  and  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  remain  now  to  be  translated  ;  v/hich  I  hope  to  get 
through  by  the  end  of  January.  The  Old  Testament  is  trans- 
lated, and  corrected  to  Numbers,  and  some  of  that  translated. 
It  is  well  that  Exodus  and  Leviticus  are  translated,  as  they  are 
extremely  difficult,  and  perhaps  no  man  w^as  so  well  qualified 
to  do  it  well  as  the  Mounshi  who  is  now  gone. 

'  I  have  received  Parkhurst's  Greek  and  Hebrew  Lexicons, 
and  the  sermons  of  the  Missionary  Society ;  also  M.  Home  on 
Missions.  I  am  very  much  obliged  indeed  by  the  receipt  of 
them.  1  will  also  write  to  the  society  to  pay  you  for  them,  as 
they  propose  to  send  us  assistance. 

'23.  Yesterday  I  went  out  to  preach  to  the  inhabitants  of  a 
neighboring  village.  Found  considerable  pleasure  in  addres- 
sing them  from  1  John  iii,  8:  'For  this  purpose  the  Son  of 
God  was  manifested,  that  he  might  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil.'  The  people  behave  well,  but  constantly  use  this  very 
disheartening  observation,  '  Sir,  we  hear  and  understand,  but 
nothing  stays  in  our  minds  ;'  and  their  common  excuse  is,  '  We 
are  poor  ignorant  creatures,  what  can  we  ever  understand  ?' 
Nay,  they  will  often  say,  '  We  are  not  men,  we  cannot  possibly 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  191 

know  any  thing;'  and  Mr.  Thomas  was  one  day  under  the 
necessity  of  proving  his  auditors  to  be  human  ;  for  they  assert- 
ed that  they  were  jackals  and  not  men.  These  very  degra- 
ding assertions  respecting  themselves  are  very  common ; 
though  certainly  used  with  no  other  design  than  to  excuse 
their  indolence  in  not  examining  the  difference  between  their 
own  superstition  and  the  gospel,  or  their  total  neglect  of  every 
thing  religious.  It  is  also  very  common  for  them  to  say,  '  We 
have  no  God  but  our  bellies.'  Some  dancing  Brahmuns  came 
one  day  to  me,  and  I  asked  them  why  they  pursued  so  vile  an 
employment ;  they  answered,  '  For  our  bellies.'  I  said,  'A 
hog  tears  up  your  fields  for  his  belly,  a  jackal  destroys  your 
kids  and  lambs  for  his  belly,  and  thieves  rob  only  for  their 
belly ;  you  are  therefore  only  on  an  equality  with  them.'  They 
assented;  nor  was  any  thing  I  could  say  sufficiently  strong  to 
prove  to  them  that  any  thing  else  was  necessary.  Only  God 
can  break  the  carnal  heart. 

'Mr.  Fountain  had  read  my  letters  about  farmers  in  our 
neighborhood,  and  had  pleased  himself  with  the  hope  of  sitting 
in  a  farmer's  chimney  corner,  and  getting  a  basin  of  milk,  and 
such  hospitality  as  may  be  experienced  in  the  house  of  an 
English  farmer.  But  alas !  he  found  that  our  farmers  were 
not  distinguishable  from  other  people,  and  that  houses  in  Ben- 
gal have  no  chimneys ;  that  we  are  never  asked  to  any  one's 
house,  and  if  we  were,  that  there  is  nothing  in  them ;  that  a 
farmer's  whole  stock  is  a  cow  or  two,  and  three  or  four  half- 
starved  bullocks,  and  a  few  pigeons ;  for  a  Hindu  will  not 
touch  a  fowl,  nor  either  Hindus  or  Mussulmans  a  hog,  except 
the  lowest  class  of  all.  A  goat  or  two,  tied  on  a  bare  highway, 
may  now  and  then  be  seen,  but  no  sheep  in  a  whole  parish. 
Thus  was  he  disappointed:  he  is,  however,  not  shaken  in 
mind,  and  I  doubt  not  will  be  a  blessing  to  us. 

'Blessed,  blessed  be  God,  for  all  that  is  doing  to  promote 
the  cause  of  Christ !  Surely,  much  is  to  be  expected.  My 
Christian  love  to  all  Olney  friends.  My  Christian  love  to  Mrs. 
Sutcliff.'  I  am,  very,  very  affectionately  yours, 

'  W.  Carey.' 


192  MEMOIR  OF  i)R.  CARElf. 

From  Mr.  Fountain  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'Mudnabatty,  JVov.  8,  1796. 
.^         ###*#*         *         *         * 

*  After  getting  a  boat  at  Calcutta,  and  other  necessary  things, 
I  left  it  on  the  24th  of  September,  and  arrived  at  Mudnabalty 
on  the  10th  of  October.  Brother  Carey  most  kindly  received 
me.  When  I  entered,  his  Pundit  stood  by  him,  teaching  him 
Sanscrit.  He  labors  in  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
has  nearly  finished  the  New  Testament,  being  somewhere 
about  the  middle  of  Revelations.  He  keeps  the  grand  end  in 
view,  which  first  induced  him  to  leave  his  country,  and  those 
Christian  friends  he  still  dearly  loves.  He  reads  a  chapter  and 
expounds,  every  morning,  to  twelve  or  sixteen  persons.  On  a 
Sabbath  morning,  he  also  expounds,  and  preaches  twice  in  the 
day  besides,  to  forty  or  fifty  persons ;  after  which,  he  often 
goes  into  some  village  in  the  evening.  In  the  intervals  of 
preaching  to  the  natives,  we  have  worship  in  English.  He 
indeed  appears  to  be  the  character  he  describes  in  his  publi- 
cation, where  he  says,  '  A  Christian  minister  is  a  person  who, 
in  a  peculiar  sense,  is  not  his  own ;  he  is  the  servant  of  God, 
and  therefore  ought  to  be  wholly  devoted  to  him.' 

'Brother  Thomas  is  also  lively  in  the  work,  and  the  Lord, 
we  trust,  is  blessing  his  labors.  Two  or  three  of  the  natives 
there  are  under  great  concern  about  their  souls.  They  meet 
together  every  day  for  prayer,  and  Mr.  Thomas  daily  instructs 
them  in  the  Scriptures.  He  has  a  very  large  congregation 
twice  on  the  Sabbath  day :  he  also  preaches  in  the  adjacent 
villages  two  or  three  times.  There  is  the  utmost  cordiality, 
friendship,  and  union  subsisting  between  him  and  brother 
Carey.  One  spirit  indeed  seems  to  actuate  both  in  the  con- 
cerns of  the  mission.' 

Mr.  Fountain  to  the  Society. 

'Mudnabalty,  JVov.  11,  1796. 
'  Brother  Thomas  delights  in  doing  good  to  the  bodies  and 
souls  of  his  fellow-men.  His  medical  skill  is  a  great  blessing 
to  this  country.  People  come  to  him  from  thirty  or  forty  miles 
round,  so  that  there  are  almost  always  patients  at  his  doors. 
He  does  all  gratis.  I  have  seen  some  of  his  remarkable  cures. 
'As  to  brother  Carey,  his  very  soul  is  absorbed  in  the  work 


MEMOIR    or    DR.    CAREY.  193 

of  the  mission.  His  dear  friends  in  England  had  no  ground 
for  their  fears,  that  riches  might  alienate  his  heart  from  that 
work.  He  does  not  possess  them.  I  am  persuaded  there  is 
not  a  man  who  has  not  learned  to  deny  himself,  but  would 
prefer  his  situation  when  at  Leicester  to  that  in  this  country. 
But  he,  like  a  Christian  minister,  as  described  in  his  own  pub- 
lication, considers  himself  as  having  'solemnly  undertaken  to 
be  always  engaged  as  much  as  possible  in  the  Lord's  work, 
and  not  to  choose  his  own  pleasure  or  employment,  or  pursue 
the  ministry  as  a  thing  which  is  to  serve  his  own  ends  or 
interests,  or  as  a  kind  of  by-work.'  He  has  told  me,  that, 
whatever  his  future  circumstances  may  be,  he  durst  not  lay  by 
a  shilling  for  his  children,  for  his  all  is  devoted  to  God.  The 
utmost  harmony  and  love  subsist  between  him  and  brother 
Thomas.  They  are  fellow-laborers  in  the  gospel  of  the  grace 
of  God.' 

To  Mr.  Smith. 

'  December  8. 
'  The  first  Sabbath  after  my  arrival  was  a  very  affecting  one. 
We  spent  it  at  brother  Thomas's,  who  had  sent  for  brother 
Carey  to  come  over  and  see  the  people  there,  as  he  hoped  the 
Lord  had  begun  to  work  upon  some  of  their  hearts  ;  and  in- 
deed we  yet  hope  that  is  the  case.  As  I  have  related  the 
particulars  of  that  day  to  the  Society,  I  shall  not  liere  repeat 
them.  It  is  impossible  to  raise  an  adequate  idea  in  your  mind 
of  what  I  felt  at  seeing  near  a  hundred  people  assembled  by 
sunrise,  to  whom  brethren  Thomas  and  Carey  both  preached. 
They  heard  with  great  attention,  and  assembled  more  numer- 
ous in  the  afternoon,  and  heard  two  more  sermons.  I  stayed 
there  near  three  weeks ;  a  good  congregation  attends  every 
Sabbath  day,  though  a  Sabbath  was  unknown  in  this  part  of 
India  till  the  missionaries  came  ;  nor  is  it  now  regarded,  save 
by  a  few  of  our  neighbors.  There  is  nothing  like  such  an  at- 
tendance here,  as  there  is  at  Moypaldiggy,  though  brother 
Carey  preaches  twice  every  Sabbath,  and  reads  and  expounds 
every  morning.  In  the  intervals  of  preaching  to  the  natives, 
we  have  worship  in  English ;  at  which  times  we  read  sermons, 
except  on  those  Sabbaths  when  we  and  brother  Thomas's 
family  meet  together ;  then  we  always  have  preaching.  Last 
18 


194  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Sabbath  day  we  all  met  together,  and  besides  preaching  to  the 
natives,  we  each  of  us  preached  once  in  English.  In  the 
afternoon  we  celebrated  the  dying  love  of  Jesus,  according  to 
his  own  appointment;  and  the  next  day,  being  the  first  Mon- 
day in  the  month,  we  remained  together,  and  in  the  evening, 
united  our  prayers  with  those  of  our  dear  brethren  in  England, 
and  other  parts  of  the  world,  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom 
of  Jesus  Christ.' 

'  It  shan't  be  said  that  praying  breath 
Was  ever  spent  in  vain.' 

'I  think  the  Society,  and  all  who  feel  for  the  ^vi-etched 
millions  in  India,  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge,  can  never 
be  sufficiently  thankful  to  God  that  brother  Carey  so  cheerful- 
ly embarked  in  the  mission.  His  amazing  knowledge  of  the 
languages  and  customs  of  countries;  his  assiduity  in  trans- 
lating the  Scriptures,  his  diligence  in  preaching,  his  patience 
under  trials,  and  his  perseverance,  though  without  apparent 
success,  are  admirable.  He  seems  every  way  fitted  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  future  good  in  this  country.  Brother  Thomas 
possesses  an  earnestness  and  plainness  of  address  in  preach- 
ing, that  is  equalled  but  by  few.  But  two  or  three  missionaries 
here  can  do  but  little ;  a  request  is  made  for  more,  and  we 
trust  they  will  be  sent.' 


'Mudnahatty,  Apil  10th,  1796. 


My  dear  Sisters, 


*I  know  not  what  to  say  about  the  mission.  I  feel  as  a 
farmer  does  about  his  crop :  sometimes  I  think  the  seed  is 
springing,  and  thus  I  hope ;  a  little  time  blasts  all,  and  my 
hopes  are  gone  like  a  cloud.  They  were  only  weeds  which 
appeared  ;  or  if  a  little  corn  sprung  up,  it  quickly  died,  being 
either  choked  with  weeds,  or  parched  up  by  the  sun  of  per- 
secution. Yet  I  still  hope  in  God,  and  will  go  forth  in  his 
strength,  and  make  mention  of  his  righteousness,  even  of  his 
only. 

*I  preach  every  day  to  the  natives,  and  twice  on  the  Lord's 
day  constantly,  besides  other  itinerant  labors ;  and  I  try  to 
speak  of  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified,  and  of  him  alone : 
but  my  soul  is  ofi:en  much  dejected  to  see  no  fruit. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  195 

'  This  morning  I  preached  to  a  number,  from  Eph.  iii,  19 : 
'  To  know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge.'  I 
was  much  affected ;  filled  with  grief  and  anguish  of  heart ; 
because  I  knew  thej^  were  going  to  idolatrous  and  Mahomedan 
feasts  immediately  after,  this  being  the  first  day  of  the  Hindus' 
year,  and  the  new  moon,  Ilamazon,  of  the  Mahomedans. 
They  are  gone,  I  suppose,  to  their  abominations  at  this  moment ; 
but  I  hope  to  preach  to  them  again  in  the  evening.  J  spoke  of 
the  love  of  God  in  bearing  with  his  enemies ;  in  supporting 
and  providing  for  them  ;  in  sending  the  gospel  to  them ;  and 
in  saving  many  of  them  from  eternal  wrath. 

'  The  work  of  translation  is  going  on ;  and  I  hope  the  whole 
New  Testament  and  the  five  books  of  Moses  may  be  com- 
pleted before  this  reaches  you.  It  is  a  pleasant  work,  and  a 
rich  reward  ;  and  I  trust,  whenever  it  is  published,  it  will  soon 
prevail,  and  put  down  all  the  Shastras  of  the  Hindus. 

'I  remain  your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Carey.' 

*  Tanquam  River,  Dec.  22,  1796. 
*My  dear  Sisters, 

'I  am  now  on  my  journey  to  Calcutta,  to  see  Mr.  Short,  who 
is  very  ill  Avith  a  consumption,  and  his  life  despaired  of 

*I  have  received  all  your  letters,  to  last  April;  and  while  I 
commiserate  you  in  all  your  distresses  and  difficulties,  I  yet 
praise  God  to  find  that  you  are  in  the  land  of  the  living ;  and 
I  think,  while  we  complain  of  the  greatest  distresses,  we  must 
put  all  to  the  score  of  divine  mercy,  and  say,  '  It  is  of  the 
Lord's  mercies  that  we  are  not  consumed,  because  his  com- 
passions fail  not.'  On  this  side  hell — door  of  hope — praying 
ground ;  all  these  are  astonishing  expressions,  and  while  there 
is  a  propriety  in  employing  them,  we  have  abundant  cause  for 
thankfulness. 

'  Were  I  disposed  to  complain,  I  have  enough,  both  within 
and  without,  to  complain  about.  My  heart  is  so  bad,  and  in 
some  respects  worse  than  that  of  any  other  person  in  the 
world ;  my  coldness  in  the  ways  of  God ;  success  little ;  car- 
nality great ;  yet  were  I  to  do  nothing  but  complain,  it  would 
add  greatly  to  my  criminality.  It^  there  are  all  these  pull- 
backs,  and  so  much  opposition,  what  is  the  inference  but  this, 


196  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

that  we  ought  to  use  so  much  the  more  dihgence  to  make  our 
calling  and  election  past  all  doubt;  and  if  the  days  are  evil, 
let  it  be  remembered  that  this  is  an  argument  for  using  the 
more  circumspection  and  care  that  we  may  redeem  the  lost 
and  misspent  time  of  our  past  lives.  Let  me  recommend  Ps. 
xxxiii,  ],  to  you  for  your  consideration,  and  it  will  appear  that 
it  is  comely  to  change  your  voice,  and  unite  with  the  ransomed 
of  the  Lord  in  songs  of  praise  to  God  and  the  Lamb. 

'  The  translation  of  the  Scriptures  I  look  upon  to  be  one  of 
the  greatest  desiderata  in  the  world,  and  it  has  accordingly 
occupied  a  considerable  part  of  my  time  and  attention ;  and, 
through  great  mercy,  the  New  Testament  is  now  so  near  com- 
pletion that  1  hope  to  have  the  translation  and  first  revision  of 
it  finished  by  the  end  of  March.  This  journey  will,  it  is  true, 
hinder  the  revision,  but  will  procure  me  much  information 
respecting  it,  which  may  be  equally  useful  to  the  mission. 

'  Your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Caret.' 

'  Mudnabatty,  December  20,  1796. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'  With  respect  to  myself  and  all  my  own  affairs,  I  have  but 
little  to  say.  We  are  all  well,  through  great  mercy,  and  in  our 
station  at  Mudnabatty,  where  we  have  been  now  three  years 
and  upwards.  We  have  four  fine  children,  who  are  now  all 
well ;  indeed,  though  we  live  in  one  of  the  wildest  parts  of 
the  country,  yet  we  all  enjoy  remarkably  good  health  and 
spirits. 

'  My  work  as  a  missionary  is  not  so  successful  as  I  wish  ; 
and  yet  I  trust  we  are  neither  of  us  (I  or  Mr.  Thomas)  without 
seals  to  our  ministry :  though  so  great  is  the  difficulty  of  losing 
caste  for  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  none  have  yet  avowed  his  name 
by  an  open  profession,  and  joining  us  as  a  church  of  Christ. 
We  have  a  church  consisting  of  four  members,  in  full  com- 
munion, and  one  (Mr.  Fountain)  at  present  an  occasional  com- 
municant. I  have  hope  of  seven  natives,  and  some  others 
appear  to  be  a  little  upon  the  inquiry.  Indeed,  I  am  much 
encouraged,  and  have  no  doubt  but  they  will  all,  in  some  little 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  197 

time,  make  an  open  profession,  and  cast  off  their  old  profes- 
sions. 

'  The  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  and  part  of  the  Old,  are 
translated,  except  a  very  few  chapters  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles ;  and  I  have  reason  to  suppose  that  the  translation  is 
free  from  gross  errors  which  will  at  all  affect  the  sense.  It  is 
still  going  on,  and  should  my  life  and  health  be  preserved,  I 
trust  it  will  be  completed  in  the  space  of  two  more  years,  that 
is,  the  whole  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  which  will  be  a  blessing 
that  you,  who  live  in  a  land  enlightened  with  the  gospel,  can- 
not possibly  estimate;  indeed,  the  difference  between  a  people 
who  have  only  the  common  light  of  the  gospel,  and  one  who 
have  not,  is  incredible,  were  you  to  witness  the  foolish  fears, 
gross  superstition,  meanness  of  mind,  and  abundance  of  vice, 
which  reign  triumphantly  in  a  country  devoted  to  the  service 
of  Satan,  and  immersed  in  the  awful  ignorance  of  heathenism. 

'Not  that  the  natives  of  this  country  are  ignorant  of  many 
useful  arts.  They  are  very  good  book-keepers ;  many  of  them 
speak  Persian  well ;  many  others  Sanscrit ;  and  many  are  very 
good  workmen  at  various  trades  and  businesses,  as  weavers, 
smiths,  carpenters,  bricklayers,  and  the  like ;  but  I  speak  of 
the  state  of  their  minds  and  country.  Here  are  no  new  pub- 
lications, Jior  have  been  for  hundreds  of  years ;  yet  they  have 
numbers  of  books,  most  however  in  foreign  languages,  as 
Arabic,  Persian,  and  Sanscrit,  which  of  course  are  only  read 
by  the  learned ;  and  the  art  of  printing  not  being  in  use,  all 
kinds  of  books  are  very  dear  and  difficult  to  be  obtained.  I 
have  not  in  all  this  time  found  one  perfect  book,  though  I  have 
detached  parts  of  several,  and  have  begun  to  learn  the  Sanscrit 
language. 

'  We  must  not  expect,  I  suppose,  ever  to  see  each  other  in 
this  world  any  more.  I  account  this  my  own  country  now, 
and  have  not  the  least  inclination  to  leave  it,  though  repeated 
experience  proves  to  me  that  I  have  nothing  to  expect  in  it  but 
a  bare  living.  Yet  even  this  is  as  much  as  1  ever  did  expect, 
or  indeed  wish  for,  except  for  the  sake  of  being  more  exten- 
sively useful.  But  I  am  well  satisfied,  and  only  mention  this 
to  rectify  a  mistaken  opinion  of  our  having  grown  rich  in 
India,  perhaps  originating  from  my  mentioning  what  miaht 
18* 


198  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

probably  be  our  income.  We  are  neither  rich,  nor  in  situations 
equal  to  what  mine  was  at  Leicester,  considering  the  great 
losses  we  have  met  with  from  large  floods,  and  the  amazing 
expense  of  servants  necessary  here. 

'  Your  aflTectionate  brother, 

'  W.  Carey.' 


SECTION   V. 


X.ETTER    TO    MR.  FULLER JOURNEY    INTO    BOOTAN LETTER  TO 

MR.  FULLER ASPECT    OF  THE    MISSION,  CONVERSATION  WITH 

A    BRAHMUN DISCOURAGEMENTS DESCRIPTION     OF     FRUITS, 

&C. LETTER    TO    MR.    SUTCLIFF LETTER    TO    BAPTIST    MIS- 
SIONARY   SOCIETY ANOTHER    TO    THE    SOCIETY LETTER    TO 

MR.  FULLER THE    ARRIVAL    OF    NEW    MISSIONARIES. 

To  Mr.  Fuller. 

'MudnabaUy,  March  23,  1797. 
'My  very  dear  Brother, 

'I  received  yours  of  May  2,  12,  13,  26,  Sept.  1,  and  Oct.  11, 
ult.,  a  few  days  since,  for  which  I  very  sincerely  thank  you. 
The  contents  are  both  pleasing  and  painful.  It  rejoices  my 
heart  much  to  hear  of  our  brethren  in  Scotland  having  so 
liberally  set  themselves  to  encourage  the  mission ;  and  that  on 
two  accounts,  independent  of  the  pecuniary  assistance  which 
they  afford.  First,  the  unequivocal  proof  that  it  affords  of 
their  heartily  coinciding  with  the  mission  plan  ;  and,  secondly, 
the  amazing  assistance  which  must  be  derived  to  the  work  in 
answer  to  their  prayers.  The  acquisition  of  a  new  multitude 
of  helpers,  all  pouring  out  their  requests  to  God  for  success 
on  our  undertaking,  does  not  a  little  encourage  my  heart  to 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  199 

proceed  in  the  pleasing  work.  Want  of  success  is  very  dis- 
couraging to  me  in  one  point  of  view,  as  I  fear  it  may  operate 
to  the  tiring  out  the  patience  of  our  numerous  and  hearty 
helpers  in  England ;  for  their  hopes,  having  been  very  san- 
guine, and  now  meeting  with  so  long  a  disappointment,  may 
at  last  decline,  and  their  hearts  be  '  made  sick.'  On  any  other 
account  I  am  not  discouraged.  I  am  sure  the  work  of  God 
must  prevail,  and  I  think  it  cannot  be  long  first ;  for  God  hav- 
ing graciously  brought  the  gospel  here,  and  excited  some  to 
attend  to  it  in  a  hopeful  manner,  is  a  kind  of  pledge  to  me 
that  he  will  not  forsake  his  work ;  and  though  caste,  and  a 
great  number  of  superstitions,  are  great  obstacles,  yet  I  know 
there  are  only  two  real  obstacles  in  any  part  of  the  earth,  viz., 
a  want  of  the  Bible,  and  the  depravity  of  the  human  heart. 
The  first  of  these  God  has  begun  to  remove,  and  I  trust  the 
last  will  be  removed  soon  ;  and  when  the  Spirit  is  poured 
down  from  on  high,  all  superstitions  will  give  way.  Be  en- 
couraged, therefore,  brother,  and  encourage  others,  for  now 
'the  darkness  is  past'  in  India,  'and  the  true  light  shineth.' 
Perhaps  it  may  be  as  brother  Ryland  suggests:  general  knowl- 
edge may  first  prevail,  and  pave  the  way  for  losing  caste  and 
joining  to  the  Lord.  I  thank  you  for  your  opinion  upon  and 
advice  about  receiving  the  natives  while  they  retain  their  caste. 
I  have  since  found  it  to  be  impracticable,  for  they  would  un- 
doubtedly be  cast  out  of  society,  in  that  case  as  well  as  the  other. 
Mr.  Schwartz's  people  have  all  lost  caste,  who  are  joined  to 
his  church.  I  have  enough  within  myself  to  discourage  me 
for  ever ;  but  I  know  the  work  is  God's,  and  will  therefore 
continue  to  go  on  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord,  and  mention  his 
righteousness  only.  The  failure  of  the  African  mission  is  a 
very  distressing  circumstance,  and  shows  the  importance  of 
being  very  careful  what  men  are  sent  on  a  mission. 

'  Bless  God,  we  are  all  as  cold  as  a  stone  in  a  political  sense, 
except  brother  Fountain,  and  I  believe  he  is  cooling :  he  also 
hears  perpetual  lectures  upon  prudence  in  that  particular.  I 
know  not  how  it  may  fare  with  him,  but  the  Company  have 
rejected  his  application  for  leave  to  stay  in  the  country,  and 
have  ordered  him  down  to  Calcutta.  Mr.  Udney  has  gener- 
ously proposed  to  appoint  him  my  assistant,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent his  meeting  with  any  disagreeable  occurrence.     Orders 


200  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

are  issued  for  every  ship  that  arrives  to  give  in  a  list  of  all 
passengers,  without  which  she  would  not  be  permitted  to  land ; 
and  all  magistrates,  and  officers  of  districts,  have  orders  to 
make  returns  of  all  Europeans,  British  subjects  not  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  King  or  Company.  Such  orders  must  be  strictly 
observed.  The  magistrate  of  Dinagepore  sent  to  me,  Mr. 
Thomas,  and  all  others  resident  in  his  district,  to  send  in  our 
names,  abodes,  business,  &c.,  and  we  did  so.  They  give  out 
covenants  to  some  persons,  licensing  them  to  stay  in  India  for 
a  limited  time.  Mr.  Fountain  applied  for  these  covenants,  but, 
not  being  able  to  ascertain  that  he  was  in  any  employment, 
was  refused ;  the  covenants  are  granted  to  Mr.  Thomas,  my- 
self, and  Mr.  Powel.  I  hope  Mr.  F.  may  obtain  them  after  a 
time ;  but  you  see  by  this  that  some  worldly  employment  is 
necessary  to  our  being  permitted  to  remain  in  this  country. 

'Mr.  Thomas  and  myself  are  just  arrived  at  home  from  an 
excursion  to  Bootan,  in  which  we  preached  Christ  in  many 
places,  where  his  name  was  never  heard  before,  and  were 
attended  to  with  great  ardor.  The  name  of  our  Redeemer  has 
been  declared  in  that  unknown  country,  and  we  have  the 
greatest  encouragement  to  hope  a  mission  may  be  begun 
to  great  advantage  in  those  parts.  I  will  relate  a  little  of  our 
expedition.  We  set  out  from  Moypaldiggy  on  the  6th  instant, 
and  arrived  on  the  10th  in  the  Bootan  country,  viz.,  that  part 
which  is  below  the  hills  ;  for  we  did  not  ascend  the  mountains, 
our  time  not  being  sufficient  to  permit  us  to  go  through  all  the 
formalities  required  thereto.  We  went  to  a  place  called 
Gopalgunge,  and  waited  on  a  Bootea  officer,  called  the  Jinkof ; 
he  received  us  very  kindly,  and  we  presented  him  with  a  few 
articles  with  which  he  was  much  pleased.  Here  we  found 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  see  some  more  officers,  and  to 
get  a  regular  permission  to  ascend  the  hills.  The  greatest 
part  of  the  day  we  were  in  his  house,  which  is  large,  and  made 
with  bamboos  and  mats,  with  saul-tree  pillars,  and  has  an 
upper  floor,  on  which  he  lives,  made  with  split  bamboos.  He 
made  us  a  present  of  some  pieces  of  bacon  about  a  foot  long, 
but  which  were  so  stale  as  to  be  smelt  at  a  great  distance. 
After  that,  he  treated  us  with  tea,  which  they  call  runga.  The 
teapot  is  a  large  bamboo,  with  a  hole  perforated  through  one 
of  its  knots  on  the  inside,  which  is  the  spout;  the  tea  is  made 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  201 

into  cakes  with  some  composition,  and  is,  when  used,  mixed 
with  boihng  water,  ghee,*  and  salt.  We  tried  in  vain  to 
swallow  it,  though  the  Bootea  drank  very  copiously  of  it.  His 
kindness,  however,  was  very  conspicuous,  and  he  drank  our 
rum  more  than  we  wished  him.  The  Booteas  are  greatly 
addicted  to  drinking  spirits,  and  pride  themselves  in  drinking 
much,  though  drunkenness  is  reckoned  a  shame  among  them. 
However,  all  will  intoxicate  themselves  if  they  can  get  Eng- 
lish spirits ;  they  are  taught  to  drink  spirits  as  soon  as  they 
can  talk ;  and  in  all  their  houses  you  see  large  pitchers, 
(Culsees)  about  as  large  as  a  small  bucket,  full  of  Bengal 
arrack,  which  they  drink  as  we  should  water.  They  are  very 
stout,  robust  people,  and  with  respect  to  dress,  color,  and  ap- 
pearance, are  like  an  amazing  stout,  athletic  English  wagoner, 
much  weather-beaten.  They  have  no  stockings,  but  their 
dress  is  like  a  wagoner's  frock,  except  the  higher  ranks,  who 
have  a  garment  much  like  an  English  gentleman's  morning 
gown,  of  blue,  red,  or  green  stuff,  with  large  figures  wrought 
in  it,  like  diaper.  The  women  are  tolerably  white  ;  their  dress 
a  petticoat,  and  a  cloth  which  is  so  fastened  from  the  shoulders 
to  the  waist  as  to  appear  like  a  monstrous  pouch  over  the 
breasts,  in  which  they  keep  every  portable  article,  as  in  a 
pocket.  Their  hair  is  parted  on  the  top  of  their  head,  and  we 
saw  no  covering  for  the  head  of  the  females,  though  men  in 
office  had  different  coverings  for  the  head. 

'  From  Gopalgunge  we  went  to  Bote  Haut  (the  natives  call 
themselves  Botes,  but  the  Hindus  call  them  Booteas),  to  see 
the  Soobah,  who  is  the  greatest  officer,  that  is,  a  kind  of  vice- 
roy, below  the  hills.  A  letter  having  been  sent  to  him  from 
the  Jinkof,  he  sent  two  horses  to  attend  us,  and  the  Jinkof 
himself  went  with  us.  The  procession  was  the  most  comical 
and  singular  that  could  be  imagined,  yet  strongly  proved  their 
great  attention  to  us.  We  were  preceded  by  a  band  of  Ben- 
gal music,  if  such  it  can  be  called;  we  were  six  horsemen,  and 
servants,  people  to  carry  our  baggage,  tents,  &c.  (which,  in 
travelling  by  land  in  this  country,  must  be  carried  on  men's 
shoulders),  and  spectators.     We  had  near  a  hundred  attendants 


Ghee   is  butter  melted  down  and  then  preserved  for  use,  and  is  much  used  in  all 
parts  of  Bengal. 


202  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

on  foot.  On  one  horse  was  the  Jinkof,  led  by  two  men,  not- 
withstanding which  lie  was  sometimes  first,  sometimes  last, 
and  sometimes  turning  round,  his  horse  being  ungovernable : 
every  mile  or  two  he  was  stopping  to  drink  spirits.  A  Hindu 
on  another  horse  was  much  like  him,  except  drinking ;  and 
we  had  enough  to  do  to  keep  our  horses  out  of  their  way,  to 
effect  which,  we  were  always  wheeling  to  the  right  or  left. 
At  our  approaching  the  town,  a  number  of  females  met  us, 
and  made  their  salam,*  after  which  they  ran  before  the  horses, 
and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  place,  I  should  suppose  tAvo  or 
three  thousand,  all  Hindus,  joined  the  procession. 

*We  went  in  this  manner  to  the  Soobah's  house,  who  re- 
ceived us  with  great  politeness,  made  us  presents  of  silk,  viz., 
a  white  scarf,  in  the  name  of  the  Grand  Lama,  a  red  one,  in 
his  own  name,  and  another  red  one,  in  a  friend's  name.  After 
receiving  the  presents,  we  ascended  the  ladder  to  his  house, 
which  was  like  the  Jinkof's,  but  much  larger,  and  more 
elegant ;  it  had  four  rooms  on  the  upper  floor,  which  were 
entirely  covered  with  mats.  At  the  further  end  of  the  princi- 
pal room  was  the  seat  of  the  Soobah,  raised  about  two  feet 
from  the  floor,  and  covered  with  red  cloth.  Thin  gauze  cur- 
tains were  hung  round  it,  and  on  this  we  were  seated  by  the 
Soobah.  On  two  sides  of  the  same  room  were  seats  for  the 
servants,  raised  about  six  inches  from  the  floor,  and,  like  the 
Soobah's,  made  with  planks  of  saul  timber,  but  covered  with 
sackcloth.  A  window,  of  about  a  foot  deep,  made  of  lattice- 
work, ran  throughout  the  two  sides  on  which  the  servants' 
seats  were  placed,  those  only  being  the  outward  walls ;  and  a 
curtain  of  white  cotton  cloth  was  placed  just  above  the  win- 
dow. On  this  curtain  were  hung  shields  and  helmets;  and 
under  it,  matchlocks,  bows,  and  arrows.  The  under  part  of 
the  house  serves  for  a  stable,  &c. 

'The  genuine  politeness  and  gentleman-like  behavior  of  the 
Soobah  exceeded  every  thing  that  can  be  imagined,  and  his 
generosity  was  astonishing.  He  insisted  on  supplying  all  our 
people  with  every  thing  they  wanted ;  and  if  we  did  but  cast 
our  eyes  to  any  object  in  the  room,  he  immediately  presented 


*  Salam,  the  common  way  of  bowing  in  India,  performed  by  putting  the  right 
hand  to  the  head,  and  gently  bowing. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  203 

US  with  one  of  the  same  sort.  Indeed  he  seemed  to  interpret 
our  looks  before  we  were  aware ;  and  in  this  manner  he  pre- 
sented each  of  us  that  night  with  a  sword,  shield,  helmet,  and 
cup,  made  of  a  very  light  beautiful  wood,  and  used  by  all  the 
Booteas  for  drinking  in.  We  admiring  the  wood,  he  gave  us 
a  large  log  of  it ;  which  appears  to  be  like  fir,  with  a  very  dark 
beautiful  grain :  it  is  full  of  a  resin  or  turpentine,  and  burns 
like  a  candle  if  cut  into  thin  pieces,  and  serves  for  that  use. 
In  eating,  the  Soobah  imitated  our  manners  so  quickly  and 
exactly,  that  though  he  had  never  seen  a  European  before,  yet 
he  appeared  as  free  as  if  he  had  spent  his  life  with  them.  We 
ate  his  food,  though  I  confess  the  thoughts  of  the  Jinkof's 
bacon  made  me  eat  rather  sparingly.  We  had  much  talk 
about  Bootan,  and  about  the  gospel ;  and  the  appellation  of 
Lama  was  given  to  us,  which  appears  to  mean  teacher,  and 
which  title  is  emphatically  given  to  the  Grand  Lama. 

'  We  found  that  he  had  determined  to  give  all  the  country  a 
testimony  of  his  friendship  for  us  in  a  public  manner ;  and 
the  next  day  was  fixed  on  to  perform  the  ceremony  in  our 
tent,  on  the  market-place.  Accordingly  we  got  instructed  in 
the  necessary  etiquette ;  and  informed  him  that  we  were  only 
coming  a  short  journey  to  see  the  country,  were  not  provided 
with  English  cloth,  &c.,  for  presents.  The  time  being  come, 
we  were  waited  on  by  the  Soobah,  followed  by  all  his  servants, 
both  Booteas  and  Hindus.  Being  seated,  we  exchanged  each 
five  rupees  and  five  pieces  of  betel,  in  the  sight  of  the  whole 
town ;  and  having  chewed  betel  for  the  first  time  in  our  lives, 
we  embraced  three  times  in  the  eastern  manner,  and  then 
shook  hands  in  the  English  manner;  after  which,  he  made  us 
a  present  of  a  piece  of  rich  debang,  wrought  with  gold,  each  a 
Bootan  blanket,  and  the  tail  of  an  animal  called  the  cheer  cow, 
but  we  could  not  ascertain  what  animal  it  was.  The  Soobah 
says  it  is  kept  tame,  is  as  large  as  a  buffalo,  and  lives  only  on 
the  tops  of  the  highest  mountains,  which  are  covered  with 
snow.  The  tail  is  as  bushy  as  a  horse's,  and  is  used  in  the 
Hindu  worship. 

'  When  the  ceremony  was  over,  we  were  conducted  to  the 
Soobah's  house,  and  found  there  another  officer,  I  believe  the 
Vakeel,  or  attorney  of  the  court  below  the  hills.  This  man 
was  just  the  reverse  of  all  we  had  seen.     He  had  been  to  Cal- 


204  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

cutta,  and  was  a  man  of  great  consequence  in  his  own  eyes. 
He  sat  on  the  Soobah's  seat  like  a  statue,  and  never  rose  when 
we  went  in,  which  the  Soobah,  a  much  greater  man,  always 
had  done.  When  we  sat  down,  he  began  a  long  discourse 
with  the  others  in  the  Bootan  language,  which,  as  we  did  not 
understand ;  we  also  talked  to  each  other  in  English.  All  this 
time  a  servant,  by  his  orders,  was  poking  a  lighted  torch  just 
in  our  faces,  that  he  might  stare  at  us.  Mr.  T.  ordered  it  away. 
He  then  asked  how  many  servants  we  kept.  Mr.  T.  told  him 
if  he  would  go  to  our  houses,  he  might  satisfy  himself  about 
that.  He  then  inquired  if  we  had  a  tent :  we  answered  in  the 
affirmative.  All  this  was  to  see  whether  we  were  great  men 
or  not.  We  treated  him  with  as  little  ceremony  as  he  did  us, 
and  after  exchanging  a  few  angry  words  with  the  Soobah,  he 
took  an  abrupt  leave.  The  Soobah  was  then  transported  with 
rage,  and  threatened  him  dreadfully  ;  tore  off  his  upper  gar- 
ment, seized  a  cresse  (a  kind  of  dagger),  struck  it  into  the 
table,  beat  his  breast,  and  threatened  to  go  after  and  kill  him. 
We  tried  to  appease  him,  and  were  successful ;  but  declined 
going  up  the  hills,  as  we  found  it  was  necessary  to  wait  for  an 
order  from  Pargong,  the  seat  of  Pelen  Rajah,  who  is  a  kind  of 
minister  of  state  to  the  Deb  Rajah  ;  or  perhaps  to  have  waited 
till  an  answer  had  been  returned  from  the  Deb  Rajah  himself, 
whose  palace,  if  we  were  not  misinformed,  is  at  Tassasooden. 
Our  people  were  much  afraid  ;  for,  though  the  Hindus  had,  till 
now,  expressed  the  greatest  confidence  in  the  gentleness  of 
the  Booteas,  they  now  began  to  propagate  a  great  number  of 
bloody  tales,  and  nothing  was  heard  but  the  insincerity  of  the 
Booteas.  We  were  not  quite  so  timid,  though  we  were  not 
without  our  cogitations.  We,  however,  laughed  at  the  people, 
and  told  them  to  run  away  for  their  lives,  if  any  danger  ap- 
peared; and  we  then  ordered  that  no  gun  should  be  loaded 
(we  had  taken  a  gun  or  two  for  fear  of  wild  elephants,  &c.), 
and  no  additional  care  whatsoever  manifested,  though  we  were 
certain  the  people  would  not  sleep  much  that  night.  We  then 
committed  ourselves  to  God  in  prayer,  and  slept  till  morning. 
'In  the  morning,  the  Soobah  came  with  his  usual  friendship, 
and  brought  more  presents,  which  we  received,  and  took  our 
leave.  He  sent  us  away  with  every  honor  he  could  heap  upon 
us ;  as  a  band  of  music  before  us,  guides  to  show  us  the  way, 


MEMOIR    or    DR.  CAREY.  205 

&c. ;  in  short,  the  whole  of  his  conduct  towards  us  was  un- 
variedly  as  generous,  poHte,  and  friendly  as  I  have  ever 
witnessed.  I  suppose  the  unhappy  quarrel  above  mentioned 
arose  from  the  Vakeel  thinking  himself  a  great  man,  and  some- 
what slighted  in  not  having  any  present  from  us :  but  in  truth 
we  had  nothing  to  present.  The  Soobah  is  to  pay  us  a  visit  in 
a  little  time,  which  I  hope  to  improve  for  the  great  end  of 
settling  a  mission  in  that  country. 

'  So  great  a  contrast  I  have  never  before  seen  between  two 
neighboring  nations,  as  the  Booteas  and  Hindus.  The  latter 
are  small,  puny,  fearful  people  ;  the  former,  athletic  and  fear- 
less. They  have  a  great  curiosity:  we  gave  them  several 
articles,  as  a  looking-glass,  and  a  pocket  compass,  which  were 
examined  in  every  point  of  view.  They  have  a  written 
language,  and,  I  am  informed,  many  books  (I  suppose  religious) 
written  in  it.  The  names  of  the  letters  are  the  same  as  the 
Bengali  language,  with  a  few  exceptions,  and  are  written  in  the 
same  order,  with  only  this  difference,  that  the  Bengali  has  five 
letters  in  a  series,  or  line  of  the  alphabet,  but  the  Bootea  only 
four.  I  intend  to  inclose  a  part  of  a  letter  which  accidentally 
fell  into  my  hands  there :  it  is  imperfect,  one  end  being  torn, 
yet  is  a  fine  specimen  of  their  writing.  I  think  the  accent  of 
the  Bootea  language  not  much  unlike  that  of  the  French ;  but 
more  acquaintance  with  it  may  alter  my  mind  in  that  particular. 
I  am  to  be  furnished  with  a  Bootea  Mounshi,  and  Mr.  T.  with 
another. 

'Dr.  Ryland  inquires  whether  Bootan  and  Thibet  are  the 
same  country ;  and  in  your  circular  letter  you  speak  of  it  as  on 
the  borders  of  Thibet.  Mr.  Thomas  thinks  that  Bootea  is  a 
province  of  Thibet ;  b»it  I  have  not  found  that  the  people  of 
Bootan  know  the  name  of  Thibet,  nor  can  I  say  any  thing 
certain  about  it.  Bootan  is  a  very  large  country,  subject  to  the 
Deb  Rajah.  The  Lama  Gooroo,  as  they  call  him,  is,  I  think, 
only  considered  as  a  representative  of  God ;  and  they  have  his 
image  in  their  houses,  about  the  size  of  a  large  man's  thumb. 
The  Soobah  said  there  was  a  greater  object  of  worship,  who 
could  only  be  seen  by  the  mind. 

'  March  25.  I  this  day  received  yours  of  June  21,  and  one 
from  brother  Ryland,  with  additions  by  yourself,  of  June  13, 
19 


206  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY. 

which  contain  Mr.  's  animadversions,  and  inquiries  by 

brother  R}  land ;  to  all  which  I  shall  now  reply,  lest  I  should 
forget  it  afterwards.     And  it  may  be  proper  to  say  that  I  do 

write  things  as  they  strike  me  at  the  time,  as  Mr. says ; 

yet  I  shall  be  able  to  prove  that  I  am  right  in  most  of  those 
instances  mentioned  by  him.  I  cannot  then  justify  my  style, 
or  accuracy  of  pointing,  and  phraseology;  I  have  always 
written  as  fast  and  much  as  I  could,  but  have  seldom  revised 
my  letters  ;  always  trusting  to  the  prudence  and  judgment  of 
my  friends,  to  extract,  to  correct  the  style,  &c.     I  shall  now 

reply  particularly  to  Mr. 's  animadversions,  and  to  brother 

Ryland's  remarks,  as  follows :' 

'I  have  been  with  the  printer,  at  Calcutta,  to  consult  him 
about  the  expense  of  printing  the  New  Testament,  which  is 
now  translated,  and  may  be  got  ready  for  the  press  in  a  little 
time.  It  has  undergone  one  correction,  but  must  undergo 
several  more.  1  employ  a  Pundit  merely  for  this  purpose,  with 
whom  I  go  through  the  whole  in  as  exact  a  manner  as  I  can. 
He  judges  of  the  style  and  syntax,  and  I  of  the  faithfulness  of 
the  translation.  I  have,  however,  translated  several  chapters 
together,  which  have  not  required  any  alteration  in  the  syntax 
whatever:  yet  I  always  submit  this  article  entirely  to  his  judg- 
ment. I  can  also,  by  hearing  him  read,  judge  whether  he  un- 
derstands his  subject,  by  his  accenting  his  reading  properly, 
and  laying  the  emphasis  on  the  right  words.  If  he  fails  in  this, 
I  immediately  suspect  the  translation ;  though  it  is  not  an 
easj^  matter  for  an  ordinary  reader  to  lay  the  emphasis  j)rop- 
erly  in  reading  Bengali,  in  which  there  is  no  pointing  at 
all.  The  mode  of  printing,  i.  e.,  whether  a  printing-j)ress, 
&c.,  shall  be  sent  from  England,  or  whether  it  shall  be  printed 
here,  or  whether  it  shall  be  printed  at  all,  now  rests  with  the 
Society. 

'To  say  anything  of  my  own  personal  exercises,  would  only 
be  filling  up  paper  with  a  long,  tedious  tale  about  myself:  I 
therefore  decline  it,  and  only  say  that  I  have  daily  cause  to 
complain,  yet  complain  in  reality  but  little,  and  am  what  I 
have  been  for  many  years,  that  poor  sluggish,  phlegmatic 
creature,  who  needs  all  the  advantages  of  godly  society  to  set 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  207 

the  springs  in  motion ;  yet  have  but  little  of  that.  Brother  F. 
is  a  great  advantage  ;  but  we  can  scarcely  vary  conversation  so 
much  with  one  person  as  to  keep  up  its  zest. 

'  I  labor  on  the  word ;  and  public  exercises  are  pleasant  to 
my  soul,  though  I  want  that  aptness  to  converse  closely  about 
the  things  of  God,  which  is  so  conspicuous  in  brother  Thomas. 
The  accounts  of  Yardee,  Doorgottea,  Sookman,  and  another, 
which  I  before  wrote,  I  trust  will  give  some  pleasure  to  the 
Society,  and  the  numerous  friends  of  Christ  in  England,  and 
will  show  that  their  prayers  have  not  been  in  vain,  while  it 
affords  a  new  encouragement  to  us.  One  of  these  persons 
has,  however,  entirely  deserted  us,  viz.,  the  man  whose  name 
I  had  forgotten.  I  have  great  reason  to  hope  that  the  others 
are  really  converted  to  Christ:  they  speak  in  a  savory  manner 
about  the  things  of  God,  and  grow  in  knowledge,  and,  I 
trust,  in  grace.  So  great  an  opposition  to  their  baptism 
has  been  stirred  up,  that  I  am  not  sure  when  we  may  have 
the  happiness  to  receive  them  as  members  of  our  commun- 
ion ;  but  I  hope  it  will  be  the  case  before  a  very  long  time  has 
elapsed. 

'  Brother  T.  labors  with  greater  and  greater  vigor  in  preach- 
ing the  word,  and  appears  alive.  I  have  much  pleasure  in 
preaching,  expounding,  and  translating.  O  that  God  woidd 
graciously  grant  us  some  more  evident  success !  Brother 
Fountain  is  making  very  considerable  progress  in  the  language : 
the  climate  suits  him  very  well  at  present,  and  I  hope  will  do ; 
though  it  is  the  rainy  season  that  tries  European  constitutions, 
which  begins  about  the  tenth  of  June.  He  is  alive  in  the 
things  of  God,  and  helps  us  much. 

'I  have  many  anxieties  still  about  the  mission,  as  you  will 
see  by  the  variety  of  objects  I  have  proposed,  or  rather  hinted, 
respecting  the  seat  of  the  mission,  and  the  steps  to  be  taken  to 
avoid  our  being  ousted  by  the  Company.  It  is  true  the  Com- 
pany have  given  covenants  to  Mr.  T.,  Mr.  Powel,  and  myself, 
which  will  secure  us  for  five  years :  but  their  being  refused  to 
brother  Fountain  causes  sorrow  and  anxiety,  though  I  think 
they  will  never  meddle  with  him.  I  have  thought  of  the 
borders  of  Bootan,  as  commanding  Hindostan,  Bootan,  and 
Assam,  at  once,  and  being  out  of  the  Company's  dominions ; 
but  permission  to  settle  there  must  be  first  obtained.     Nor  do 


208  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

I  know  that  we  should  be  more  secure  there  ;  for  the  Company 
can  negotiate  with  any  other  power,  and  might  be  provoked 
to  do  it  if  they  found  us  evading  them.  If  we,  who  are  per- 
mitted to  reside  in  India,  get  permission  from  the  board  of 
trade  at  Calcutta  to  carry  on  any  business,  that  business  might 
include  all  future  missionaries,  Vv^ho,  if  they  could  certify  their 
being  employed  in  any  business,  would  not,  in  probability,  be 
refused  covenants,  as  brother  F.  was,  only  on  account  of  not 
being  able  to  say  he  was  in  employment.  But,  in  this  case, 
the  mission  would  not  be  avowed  to  government;  though  it 
naight  be  pursued  equally  as  if  it  were,  and  worldly  business 
might  be  carried  on  upon  as  small  a  scale  as  we  could  wish, 
merely  for  the  maintenance  of  the  missionaries.  There  is  a 
passage  in  Mr.  Home's  Letters,  which  is  to  this  import : 
'Thank  God,  we  can  assert  the  rights  of  Englishmen  in 
preaching  the  gospel  at  Calcutta.'  Query,  can  Europeans 
settle  at  Calcutta  and  its  environs  for  ten  miles  round,  without 
the  consent  of  the  Company  ?  If  so,  our  difRculties  would  be 
at  an  end. 

'That  a  considerable  number  of  additional  missionaries  are 
necessary,  I  am  fully  persuaded ;  and  that,  if  something  like 
what  I  have  proposed  in  my  last  letter  could  be  done,  it  would 
be  an  incalculable  advantage  to  the  undertaking.  This  mission 
should  be  strengthened  as  much  as  possible,  as  its  situation  is 
such  as  may  put  it  in  our  power,  eventually,  to  spread  the 
gospel  through  the  greatest  part  of  Asia,  and  almost  all  the 
necessary  languages  may  be  learned  here. 

'I  hope  the  African  mission  may  teach  us  more  and  more; 
though  we  have  always  made  it  a  point  to  avoid  every  word  or 
action,  that  looks  like  intermeddling  with  politics.  .  We  have 
no  disposition  to  it ;  and  if  we  were  at  all  dissatisfied,  which 
we  are  not,  yet  it  is  a  point  of  conscience  with  me,  to  be  sub- 
missive to  the  powers  that  are,  for  the  time  being ;  so  that,  let 
my  opinions  about  the  best  mode  of  government  be  what  they 
might,  yet  the  Bible  teaches  me  to  act  as  a  peaceful  subject 
under  that  government  which  is  established  where  Providence 
has  placed  or  ever  may  place  my  lot ;  provided  that  govern- 
ment does  not  interfere  in  religious  matters,  or  attempt  to 
constrain  my  conscience :  in  that  case,  I  think  it  my  duty 
peaceably  to   obey  God   rather   than  men,  and   abide    by  all 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  209 

consequences.  My  paper  is  at  an  end.  A  number  of  people 
are  just  come  in.  The  post  is  going  off,  and  I  add  no  more  ; 
only  request  you  to  remember  my  warmest  love  to  the  Society, 
to  all  ministers,  especially  my  acquaintance,  and  to  all, 
either  in  your  own  or  any  other  church,  with  whom  I  am  ac- 
quainted. I  am,  dear  brother, 

'  Affectionately  yours, 

'  W.  Carey.' 

To  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Mudnahatty,  June  22,  1797. 
'My  very  dear  Brother, 

'I  have  yoiu's  of  August  9,  16,  vv'hich  informs  me  that  the 
seeds,  &c.,  were  shi})ped.  I  have  received  those  seeds  and 
other  articles  in  tolerable  preservation,  and  shall  find  them  a 
very  useful  article.  An  acquaintance  which  I  have  formed 
with  Dr.  Roxburg,  superintendent  of  the  Company's  botanic 
garden,  and  whose  wife  is  daughter  of  a  missionary  on  the 
coast,  may  be  of  future  use  to  the  mission,  and  make  that  in- 
vestment of  vegetables  more  valuable. 

'  Mr.  Fountain  had  agreed  to  take  thirty  rupees  ])er  month 
for  his  support,  for  which  I  have  drawn  on  the  treasurer  two 
bills  in  triplicate,  one  payable  to  Mr.  B.  Powell,  or  order,  the 
other  to  George  Udney,  Esq.,  or  order.  But  soon  after  this,  I 
received  yours  of  August  9,  16,  1796,  agreeing  to  give  him  the 
amount  of  the  seeds,  &c.  As  he  wishes  to  give  some  en- 
couragement to  the  school,  by  rewards  to  the  children,  &c.,  I 
have  agreed  that  he  shall  receive  from  me  to  the  amount  of 
£50  sterling,  the  sum  which  Maddock  has  agreed  to  receive : 
in  which  case,  the  amount  of  the  two  bills  drawn  on  the 
treasurer  will  be  received  by  me,  and  I  shall  be  responsible  to 
the  Society  for  it ;  it  may  therefore  be  accounted  as  a  part  of 
my  intended  allowance,  or  applied  to  any  other  purpose  the 
Society  may  think  proper  to  direct.  You  some  time  ago 
mentioned  a  wish  to  contribute  regularly  to  our  assistance,  but 
have  sent  no  account  to  what  amount,  except  for  1795.  I 
having  drawn  on  the  Society,  it  may  raise  some  jealousy  in 
Mr.  Thomas's  mind,  if  they  do  not  make  him  an  allowance,  or 
otherwise  say  what  he  is  to  expect ;  though  I  think  [  may 
venture  to  say  that  if  you  would  determine  to  pay  his  allowance 
19* 


2J0  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

to  his  creditors  in  England,  on  his  account,  it  might  tend  more 
to  the  advantage  of  liim,  and  also  to  the  honor  of  the  mission, 
than  any  other  method. 

'Thus  much  I  have  said  respecting  the  regulation  of  what- 
ever is  sent  in  future  ;  my  thoughts  respecting  the  carrying  on 
of  the  mission,  1  have  formerly  written  to  you  ;  and  I  am  more 
and  more  convinced,  that  more  persons  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  the  work  of  the  mission  being  carried  on  with  any 
degree  of  spirit.  Whether  the  Company  will  or  will  not 
molest  us,  must  be  left  to  His  care  who  holds  the  seven  stars 
in  his  right  hand,  and  without  whose  permission  a  sparrow 
does  not  fall  to  the  ground ;  but  that  no  human  means  may  be 
wanting,  having  now  entered  into  covenants  with  the  Com- 
pany, I  have  it  now  in  my  power  to  engage  in  any  line  of 
business,  either  nominal  (that  is,  ]  can  take  a  dozen  acres  of 
land,  and  cultivate  a  rood  of  sugar-canes,  and  be  called  a  sugar 
manufacturer,  or  any  other  business,  for  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
eary  to  be  nominally  in  some  employment,  if  not  really)  or 
actual,  which  last  I  think  will  be  necessary  to  a  certain  degree 
for  our  support,  after  the  example  of  the  Moravians;  and  in 
that  case,  whoever  comes  may  be  denominated  assistants  to 
Mr.  Thomas  and  myself  on  their  first  arrival.  And  as  we  are 
now  permitted  by  the  Company  to  live  in  the  country,  and 
trade  therein,  and  mutual  covenants  for  that  purpose  being 
signed,  we  may,  with  boldness,  pursue  any  line  of  conduct 
that  may  be  proper ;  not  to  mention  that  I  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  we  are  respected  by  the  magistrates,  &c.,  of  the 
district,  who  perfectly  understand  our  errand:  indeed,  the 
judge  of  Dinagepore  *  expressed  very  great  approbation 
of  the  translating  of  the  Bible;  and  has  shown  us  several 
acts  of  kindness,  which  may  be  serviceable  to  the  mission  in 
future. 

'I  think  the  aspect  of  the  mission  not  quite  so  cloudy  as  it 
was  some  time  ago.  Mr.  Fountain  is  a  great  assistance  ;  and 
1  may  say,  for  the  purpose  of  quieting  all  your  fears,  that  I 
think  you  need  not  be  under  any  apprehension  on  account  of 
his  political  fire :  there  is  but  little  fuel  for  it  here,  and  it  is 
much  suppressed.     The  persons  I  mentioned  in  my  letters  of 

*  'Do  not,  on  any  account,  print  any  thing  in  which  officers  (civil)  are  parties.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  211 

January  last  still  stand,  but  do  not  appear  so  lively  as  they  did 
then.  The  heat,  and  also  the  coming  on  of  the  rains,  which 
are  just  setting  in,  prevent  much  going  out  to  preach  at  pres- 
ent ;  but  our  congregation  at  home  is  larger.  We  have  also, 
just  now  (about  a  month  ago),  set  up  a  school  again ;  the 
former  having  been  discontinued  from  Ram  Boshoo's  defection. 
We  have  now  thirteen  scholars,  and  others  doubtless  will  soon 
come  in.  They  write  part  of  the  Scripture  for  their  exercises, 
and  learn  common  arithmetic.  I  mean  to  introduce  some 
other  branches  of  useful  knowledge,  of  which  the  Hindus  are 
yet  ignorant. 

'A  gentleman  at  Dinagepore,  whose  name  is  Fernandez, 
born  at  Macao,  in  China,  of  Portuguese  or  Italian  parents,  I  am 
not  sure  which,  has  heard  us  preach ;  since  which  time  he  has 
shown  great  regard  to  us,  and  is  now  erecting  a  brick  house 
at  Dinagepore  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  to  either  natives 
or  English,  entirely  at  his  own  expense.  He  writes  that  it  will 
be  finished  in  about  a  month,  when  he  intends  to  have  it 
opened  with  prayer  and  preaching.  This  is  the  more  re- 
markable as  he  was  intended  to  be  a  popish  priest  himself; 
but,  he  says,  being  shocked  at  the  worship  of  images,  he  began 
to  examine,  and  the  more  he  examined  the  more  he  was  in- 
clined to  Protestant  principles,  and  so  gradually  relinquished 
the  church  of  Rome.  I  cannot  say  that  there  is  sufficient 
proof  of  his  being  a  converted  man ;  yet  he  is  very  attentive, 
and  more  tender  in  his  mind  than  almost  any  other  with 
whom  I  am  acquainted,  and  I  hope  that  God  may  carry 
on  his  work  in  his  heart.  He  often  talks  to  the  natives,  and 
being  of  a  communicative  disposition,  he  has  much  contributed 
to  prepossess  the  Hindus  there  with  favorable  sentiments  of 
the  gospel. 

'  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  American  magazines. 
There  are  some  things  rather  wide  in  them,  but  others  very 
much  please  me,  particularly  those  signed  O.  Pray  do  you 
know  who  O.  is  ?  The  piece  on  '  Slander,'  in  No.  Ill,  I  think, 
goes  to  the  subversion  of  church  discipline,  and  seems  extrava- 
gant. Simon  and  Peter,  in  No.  \,  will  not  bear  the  test  of 
Scripture.  If  a  heathen  can  worship  the  sun  with  a  holy 
mind,  it  will  follow  that  he  may  worship  an  image  with  a  mind 
as  pure,  and  may  as  easily  attribute  all  the  perfections  of  Deity 


212  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

to  one  as  to  the  other.  But,  query,  whether  it  be  not  as  difficult, 
or  rather  as  impossible,  to  believe  in  reality  that  a  created 
being  possesses  divine  perfections,  as  it  is  to  worship  God  in 
spirit  and  in  truth,  if  our  ideas  of  him  are  carnal  and  false. 
Yet,  as  the  magazine  opens  a  door  for  free  discussion,  I  think 
it  a  good  undertaking,  and  hope  it  will  answer  valuable  ends. 
I  wish  you  would  send  us  a  few  more  of  your  own  Circular 
Letters ;  we  are  now  three  persons  in  number,  and  we  have 
many  opportunities  of  putting  such  a  publication  into  other 
people's  hands ;  and  some  people  must  have  one,  even  if  we 
go  without  ourselves :  indeed,  I  am  at  this  time  without  the 
letters  for  1794,  1795,  and  1796.  If  the  association  is  so  very 
poor  that  it  cannot  afford  us  a  dozen  of  letters,  do  charge  the 
amount  to  me:  I  will  repay  it. 

'July  4.  I  have  not  been  able  to  add  any  thing  for  several 
days  past,  but  I  now  resume  the  pen. 

'It  may  not  be  disagreeable  to  you  to  have  an  account  of  a 
conversation  which  I  had  a  little  time  ago  with  a  Brahmun,  as 
it  will  show  how  uniform  the  carnal  mind  is  in  its  opposition 
to  God,  and  that  the  very  arguments  used  in  England  to  op- 
pose the  gospel,  are  also  used  in  Bengal. 

'I  was  pressing  upon  him  the  necessity  of  believing  in 
Christ  for  salvation,  when  he  asked  how  it  was  that  the 
worship  of  idols  had  been  followed  from  the  beginning,  and 
how  it  was  that,  according  to  the  Scripture  itself,  the  worship 
of  the  Debtas  *  was  professed  through  the  whole  world,  except 
one  small  nation,  from  the  beginning.  And,  says  he,  ^if  the 
gospel  be  the  way  of  life,  how  is  it  that  we  never  heard  of  it 
before?'  I  answered, 'God  formerly  suffered  all  nations  to 
walk  in  their  own  ways,  but  now  commandeth  all  men  every 
where  to  repent.'  'Indeed,'  said  he,  'I  think  God  ought  to 
repent  for  not  sending  the  gospel  sooner  to  us.'  I  then  tried 
to  convince  him  that  God  had  never  done  injustice  to  men, 
and  that  it  was  his  settled  purpose  finally  to  overcome  all  the 
power  and  craft  of  the  devil.     To  this  I  added,  suppose  a 

*' Idols,  or  supposed  powerful  intelligences,  inferior  to  God,  and  represented  by 
images.  They  seem  to  answer  exactly  to  the  Greek  word  ^utffol'iOP;  and  the 
character  of  these  supposed  intelligences  is  well  described  according  to  the  Hindu 
notion  in  Parkhurst's  Greuk  Lexicon,  under  the  above  word.  The  Hindus,  however 
divide  them  into  two  kinds,  viz.,  Dehta,  or  Soor  ;  and  Doxjtyo,  or  jBsoor ;  the  first 
dignifying  the  good  or  benign,  the  last,  the  bad  or  malignant  povvers.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  213 

kingdom  had  been  long  overrun  by  the  enemies  of  its  true 
king,  and  he,  though  possessed  of  sufficient  power  to  conquer 
them,  should  yet  suffer  them  to  prevail,  and  establish  them- 
selves as  much  as  they  could  desire,  would  not  the  valor  and 
wisdom  of  that  king  be  far  more  conspicuous  in  exterminating 
them,  than  it  would  have  been  if  he  had  opposed  them  at  first, 
and  prevented  their  entering  the  country  ?  Thus,  by  the 
diffusion  of  gospel  light,  the  wisdom,  power,  and  grace  of  God 
will  be  much  more  conspicuous  in  overcoming  such  deep- 
rooted  idolatries,  and  in  destroying  all  that  darkness  and  vice 
which  have  so  universally  prevailed  in  this  country,  than  they 
would  have  been  if  all  had  not  been  suffered  to  walk  in  their 
own  waj^s  for  so  many  ages  past. 

'  Jan.  1,  1798.  The  ships  having  been  despatched  before  I 
had  finished  this,  and  before  I  saw  the  newspapers,  it  has  lain 
unfinished  till  now.  I  shall  add  a  little  more,  and  send  it  by 
the  present  ships. 

'  Since  the  above  date,  a  letter-foundry  has  been  set  up  at 
Calcutta  for  the  country  languages ;  and  I  think  it  will  be 
cheaper  and  better  to  furnish  ourselves  with  letters,  for  print- 
ing the  Bible  in  this  country,  than  to  have  them  cast  in  Europe. 
I  have  also  been  talking  with  Mr.  Udney  about  setting  up  a 
printing-press  at  Mudnabatty,  which  he  highly  ap})roves  of, 
and  I  believe  will  contribute  liberally  towards  it.  Mr.  Powel 
will  be  able  to  construct  a  press,  and  workmen  may  be  ob- 
tained from  Calcutta.  I  shall  therefore  immediately  set  about 
it ;  but  ready  money  will  be  required  :  with  Mr.  Udney's  assist- 
ance, however,  I  hope  to  get  through  that  difficulty.  It  will, 
however,  be  absolutely  necessary  for  you  to  appoint  a  banking- 
house  in  London,  on  which  we  may  be  authorized  to  draw  to 
a  certain  amount  yearly,  and  also  what  may  be  necessary  to 
set  up  this  great  work  at  first.  I  should  recommend  the  house 
of  Raiches  and  Co.,  that  being  the  house  with  which  Mr. 
Udney's  business  is  carried  on ;  and  it  will  consequently  be 
easier  to  get  money  for  bills  drawn  on  that  than  on  any  other 
house. 

'Mr.  Udney  strongly  recommends  the  printing  of  the  Persian 
Pentateuch  and  Gospels  in  the  Polyglott ;  and  as  multitudes  of 
the  higher  classes  of  people  in  India  are  well  acquainted  with 
that  language,  I   think   it  may   be   of  great  advantage.     Mr 


214  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Udney,  who  well  understands  the  Persian,  says  the  transla- 
tion is  just,  and  is  setting  some  Mussulmans  to  transcribe 
it  for  the  press.  By  setting  uj)  a  press  we  shall  be  able  to 
publish  many  little  things  in  Bengali,  which  we  can  circu- 
late through  the  country,  though  all  must  be  given  away  at  the 
beginning. 

'For  want  of  keeping  copies  of  my  letters,  I  have  really 
forgotten  what  I  wrote  respecting  our  allowance,  to  which 
yours  of  December,  1796,  was  an  answer.  I  have,  therefore, 
now  begun  to  keep  copies  of  my  letters,  which  will,  in  future, 
prevent  such  mistakes.  I  shall,  however,  now  inclose  a  copy 
of  my  account  with  the  Society.  I  also  think  that,  excepting  a 
few  articles  of  apparel,  such  as  a  piece  of  light  fine  cloth  for 
coats,  a  piece  of  velveteen,  or  such  like,  for  waistcoats,  &:c., 
with  trimmings,  which  might  be  sent  yearly,  it  would  be  better 
to  draw  as  above  mentioned,  for  our  allowance,  than  to  send 
goods,  which  are  often  sold  for  less  than  prime  cost.  I  should 
also  like  to  have  about  £10  a  year  put  into  the  hand  of  some 
friend  in  London,  to  be  laid  out  according  to  my  order,  in  a 
few  trifling  articles  which  I  may  want;  and  I  think  Mr. 
Benjamin  Powell,  of  St.  John's  street,  would  very  properly  and 
carefully  execute  any  such  orders,  and  he  would  ship  them 
with  any  other  articles  which  he  may  have  to  send  to  his  son 
at  Moypal.  I  shall,  in  that  case,  give  him  orders.  Whatever 
he  has  sent  has  arrived  much  quicker  and  better  than  the  goods 
sent  by  the  Society. 

'  Jan.  9.  I  have  been  going  to  and  fro  ever  since  the  last 
date,  when  I  was  at  Malda.  Yesterday  I  returned  from 
Dinagepore,  distant  from  Malda  sixty-lour  miles,  where  1 
preached  to  the  Bengal  natives,  and  also  to  the  European 
inhabitants,  who  all  attended  except  two  persons.  This  also 
being  the  time  of  the  assizes,  the  judge  of  the  circuit  attended 
the  word.  The  congregation  consisted  of  Mr.  Rock,  the  judge 
of  the  circuit;  Mr.  Parr,  judge  of  the  district;  Mr.  Cunning- 
hame,  registrar  of  the  court;  our  good  friend,  Mr.  Fernandez; 
and  Mr.  Powel,  who  accompanied  me.  Also,  from  Rungpore, 
Dr.  Todd,  Mr.  Marsh,  and  Mr.  Long ;  Mrs.  Rock,  Mrs.  Todd,  and 
Mrs.  Bird,  the  collector's  wife.  The  three  judges,  viz.,  Messrs. 
Rock,  Parr,  and  Cunninghame,  also  attended  the  Bengali  preach- 
ing.    I  afterwards  dined  with  them  at  Mr.  Parr's,  where  Ave 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET,  215 

had  much  talk  about  the  gospel,  and  particularly  about  the 
mission.  Either  your  periodical  accounts,  or  Rippon's  Regis- 
ter, I  am  not  sure  which,  are  come  to  India;  so  that  our  errand 
is  well  known  to  all.  Mr.  Colbrook,  nephew  to  Mr.  Dundas, 
M.  P.,  had  them  sent  out  to  him,  and  has  lent  them  abroad ; 
and  Lady  Elgin  sent  them  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Bruce,  who  lent 
them  to  Mr.  Parr. 

'  Thus  you  see  1  have  discouragements.  Mr.  Long  we  have 
been  obliged  to  exclude  from  our  church  for  dishonesty.  Mr. 
Thomas  is  gone  far  away ;  and  my  domestic  troubles  are 
sometimes  almost  too  heavy  for  me.  I  am  distressed,  yet  sup- 
ported, and  I  trust  not  totally  dead  in  the  things  of  God.  I  do 
a  little,  and  I  wish  to  do  more ;  but  the  whole  weight  lies  on 
me.  Brother  Fountain  is  diligent,  has  good  preaching  abili- 
ties, and  is  a  great  encouragement  to  me,  though  he  cannot 
speak  the  language  so  as  to  be  understood  in  preaching.  Mr. 
Powel  is  a  good  man,  and  gives  me  great  pleasure ;  but  he  is 
not  professedly  a  missionary,  and  it  is  doubtful  to  me  whether 
he  has  abilities  to  speak  in  public ;  he  is,  however,  very  useful 
in  other  respects,  and  is  now  going  to  undertake  the  making 
of  our  printing  press.  The  prospect  among  the  natives  is 
more  encouraging.  Our  school  prospers,  and  I  trust  there  is 
some  revival  among  the  religious  Europeans  in  this  neighbor- 
hood. I  have  written  to  Mr.  Schwartz,  at  Tanjore,  but  have 
no  answer  yet :  he  is  further  from  us  than  Rome  is  from  you. 

'I  intended  giving  you  some  account  of  the  natural  pro- 
ductions of  this  country ;  but  at  present  must  conclude  with 
only  mentioning  a  few,  and  those  of  the  vegetable  kind,  for  I 
have  not  had  sufficient  leisure  to  examine  animals  properly. 
I  am,  however,  preparing  accounts  of  them,  w^hich  I  hope  to 
send  to  you. 

'  The  fruits  of  India,  though  so  much  famed  in  Europe,  will 
be  found  far  short  of  those  in  Europe,  both  in  quality  and 
flavor,  except  a  very  few.' 

'  W.  Carey.' 


216  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

To  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'  Mudnahatty,  Jan.  16,  1798. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'  I  have  yours  of  February  7,  1797,  which  is  the  only  one  of 
your  favors  which  remain  unansv^^ered.  I  now  sit  down  to 
answer  it,  and  must  say  that,  though  short,  yet  it  contains 
multum  in  parvo,  and  has  been  a  cordial  to  my  heart. 

'  You  are  among  the  number  of  my  dear  friends,  whose  names 
I  often  mention  in  my  poor  prayers  to  God,  and,  give  me  leave 
to  say,  one  to  whom  my  heart  is  truly  attached  in  the  gospel. 
I  rejoice  to  hear  of  your  health,  of  your  marriage,  of  your 
people,  and  of  your  happiness  with  them.  They  are  a  people 
whom  I  love,  so  far  as  I  know  them.  The  account  of  deaths, 
revivals,  and  other  changes  in  your  parts,  is  to  me  peculiarly 
interesting;  and  I  trust,  upon  the  whole,  there  appears,  a  de- 
gree of  melioration  in  mundane  affairs,  so  far  as  they  relate  to 
the  church  of  Christ. 

'  I  am  fully  convinced  of  what  you  say  respecting  the  i)ro- 
priety  of  keeping  two  journals ;  but  owing  to  my  numerous 
avocations,  which  engross  all  my  time,  I  have  long  since  drop- 
ped the  practice  of  keeping  any  journal  at  all.  I  might  plead 
my  great  disinclination  to  writing  as  an  excuse,  but  I  am 
ashamed  to  do  it ;  though  that  undoubtedly  has  its  bad  effect. 
Yet  if  you  consider  my  situation,  you  will  say  that  I  have  my 
hands  full  of  labor  ;  and  yet  I  am  scarcely  perceived  among  the 
millions  of  Bengal.  The  translating  the  Scripture,  and  correct- 
ing former  translations,  constantly  occupies  all  my  candle-light, 
and  often  all  my  afternoons.  This  you  will  easily  believe,  when 
you  consider  the  difficulty  of  translating  into  a  foreign  lan- 
guage, and  the  labor  of  collating  my  translation  with  all  the 
versions  I  have ;  as  also  the  writing  the  whole  with  my  own 
hand  in  the  Bengal  character,  which  is  considerable  labor, 
notwithstanding  I  write  it  nearly  as  quick  as  I  do  English.  I 
have  had  no  assistance  from  Mr.  Thomas  in  this  work,  except 
his  old  copies  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  James,  and  part  of  Luke  ; 
all  which  were  so  very  imperfect  and  incorrect,  that,  setting 
aside  the  labor  of  writing,  it  would  have  been  as  easy  to  have 
translated  the  whole  myself.  At  this  time  the  Pentateuch,  the 
New  Testament,  and  eighty-five  of  the  Psalms  are  done,  and 
I  hope,  in  the  course  of  this  year,  to  finish  all,  except  the  his- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  217 

torical  books  from  Joshua  to  Job.  Besides  this,  I  am  learning 
the  Sanscrit  language,  which,  with  only  the  helps  to  be  pro- 
cured here,  is  perhaps  the  hardest  language  in  the  world.  To 
accomplish  this,  1  have  nearly  translated  the  Sanscrit  grammar 
and  dictionary  into  English,  and  have  made  considerable  pro- 
gress in  compiling  a  dictionary,  Sanscrit,  including  Bengali 
and  English. 

'I  also  maintain  the  worship  of  God,  and  expound  in  Ben- 
gali every  morning ;  when  about  twenty  people  attend,  and 
we  sing  Bengali  hymns,  which  I  have  composed,  I  suppose  in 
the  style  of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  ;  but  I  did  what  I  was  able 
to  do,  and  hope  it  may  be  attended  with  a  blessing.  When  at 
home  I  constantly  preach  to  them  twice  on  the  Sabbath.  I 
now  preach  at  Dinagepore  once  a  month,  the  particulars  of 
which  brother  Fuller  will  inform  you  of 

'  I  have  written  to  Mr.  Schwartz,  but  have  not  his  answer 
yet.  You  know  that  those  good  men  are  supported  by  the 
English  Society  for  promoting  religious  knowledge,  and  that 
their  accounts  are  printed.  I  rejoice  much  at  the  missionary 
spirit  which  is  lately  gone  forth.  Surely  it  is  the  prelude  to 
the  universal  spread  of  the  gospel !  I  also  see  in  the  Calcutta 
papers  that  the  pope  was  dying,  the  cardinals  fled,  and  priests 
marrying,  last  June.  I  hope  it  was  true ;  and  also  that  the  old 
gentleman  is  dead  and  buried,  and  that  no  more  of  his  seed 
or  sort  may  any  more  exist  in  the  earth.  Your  account  of  the 
German  Moravian  brethren's  affectionate  regard  towards  me 
is  very  pleasing.  1  am  not  much  moved  with  what  men  in 
general  say  of  me ;  yet  I  cannot  be  insensible  to  the  regards 
of  men  eminent  for  godliness. 

'  What  you  hint  respecting  the  natural  histor}'  or  other  par- 
ticulars of  Bengal,  I  have  adopted  some  time  ago,  and  have 
separate  books  for  every  distinct  class,  as  birds,  beasts,  fishes, 
serpents,  &c.  I  intend,  however,  to  trouble  you  a  little  from 
time  to  time  with  some  account  of  their  mythology  and  re- 
ligion ;  and  as  the  worship  of  the  sun  was  performed  in  my 
sight  last  Lord's  day,  I  shall  begin  with  that ;  especially  as  I 
have  not  seen  it  noted  by  any  writer  on  India.  I  preached  on 
the  spot  to  them,  just  in  front  of  a  long  row  of  offerings,  in  the 
evening. 

'The  sun,  called  Soorjyo,  or  Deebahar,  is  supposed  to  be 
20 


218  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

the  governor  of  all  bodily  diseases,  and  is  therefore  wor- 
shipped, to  avert  his  anger,  and  to  prevent  diseases.  Some 
valetudinarians  worship  him  every  Sunday,  by  fasting  and 
offerings;  but  he  is  annually  worshipped  the  first  Sunday  in 
the  month  of  May,  which  was  last  Lord's  day,  Jan.  14.  The 
name  of  this  worship  is  Dhomma  Bhau,  or  Soorjyo  Bhau.  In 
these  parts  (for  the  manner,  I  am  informed,  is  different  in  some 
circumstances,  in  different  places)  women  appear  to  be  the 
principal  actors  in  the  worship,  though  none  are  excluded,  and 
even  Mussulmans  have  so  far  Hinduized  as  to  join  in  the  idol- 
atry. It  was  thus  conducted:  At  the  dawn  of  the  morning  a 
great  number  of  offerings  were  carried  into  the  open  field, 
and  placed  in  a  row.  The  oflTerings  which  I  saw  consisted  of 
fruits,  sweetmeats,  pigeons,  and  kids;  and  I  suppose  other 
things,  as  deer,  buffaloes,  &c.,  might  be  offered.  By  each 
person's  offering  is  placed  a  small  pitcher-like  pot,  containing 
about  a  pint  and  a  half  of  Avater.  A  device,  made  of  a  water- 
plant,  a  species  of  phylanthus,  made  to  represent  the  sun,  is 
placed  on  the  edge  of  the  pot,  as  people  in  England  place 
flowers.  The  pot,  with  all  its  appendages,  represents  the  sun, 
perhaps  as  the  vivifier  of  nature.     By  each  offering  also  is 

placed  a what  shall  I  call  it? — an  incense  altar, or  censer. 

It  resembles  a  chafing  dish,  is  made  of  copper,  and  stands  on 
a  pedestal  about  a  foot  long.  It  is  called  a  dhoonachee.  It 
contains  coals  of  fire,  and  has  a  kind  of  incense  from  time  to 
time  thrown  into  it,  principally  the  pitch  of  the  saul  tree, 
called  here  dhoona.  By  each  offering  also  stands  a  lamp, 
which  is  kept  burning  all  day  ;  and  the  women  who  offer  take 
their  station  by  their  offerings.  At  sun-rise,  they  walk  four 
times  round  the  whole  row  of  offerings,  with  the  smoking 
dhoonachee  placed  on  their  heads,  and  then  resume  their  sta- 
tions again,  where  they  continue  in  an  erect  posture,  fasting 
the  whole  day,  occasionally  throwing  a  little  dhoona  into  the 
dhoonachee.  Towards  evening,  the  Brahmun  who  attends 
the  ceremony  throws  the  pigeons  up  into  the  air,  which,  being 
young,  cannot  fly  far,  and  are  scrambled  for  and  carried  away 
by  any  one  who  gets  them,  for  the  purpose  of  eating.  The 
Brahmun  also  perforates  the  ears  of  the  kids  with  a  pack-needle ; 
after  which,  the  first  who  touches  them  gets  them.  About 
sun-set,  the  offerers  again  take  up  the  smoking  dhoonachees, 


MEMOIR  OF    DR.  CAREY.  219 

and  make  three  more  circuits  round  the  row  of  offerings, 
making  the  whole  number  seven  times  in  the  day.  I  have  not 
learned  the  reason  of  this  number.  After  this,  each  one  takes 
his  or  her  offering  home,  and  eats  it,  the  worship  being  ended. 
Then  the  lamps  are  extinguished.  I  had  some  of  these  things 
presented  to  me  ;  but  in  order  to  bear  testimony  against  the 
idolatry,  I  not  only  refused  them,  but  others  also  brought  on 
purpose  for  me  by  one  present, — telling  them  that  it  was  a 
very  wicked  thing  to  eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols,  which  are 
God's  enemies.  I  preached  to  them  from  Rev.  i,  16 :  '  His 
countenance  was  as  the  sun  shining  in  his  strength,'  and  told 
them  of  the  glories  of  the  Lord  of  the  sun,  as  Creator,  Gov- 
ernor, and  Savior.  I  had  a  rich  Fakir  Mussulman  come  in  the 
morning  to  hear  me ;  he  came  from  a  distance.  I  had  much 
talk  with  him  afterwards,  in  the  hearing  of  the  people,  who 
were  so  credulous  as  to  believe  that  he  had  actually,  that 
morning,  turned  a  pot  of  water  into  milk.  I  asked  him  to 
dine  with  me  (this  no  native  would  do  on  any  account),  and 
observed  to  the  people,  that  if  he  could  change  water  into 
milk,  he  could  change  pork  into  mutton, — pork  being  never 
eaten  by  Mussulmans. 

'  Thus  I  have  given  you  a  short  account  of  this  remarkable 
worship.  They  have  a  book  of  directions  for  the  performance 
of  it,  which  I  am  trying  to  get.  If  I  succeed,  I  may  in  a  future 
letter  send  you  a  translation  of  its  contents. 

'  You  inquire  after  the  officer  I  mentioned :  his  name  is 
Frole.  Mr.  Udney,  who  has  since  dined  with  him,  thinks  him 
enthusiastically  insane.  He  is  gone  to  England.  The  mis- 
sionary's son  I  never  saw :  he  soon  left  Malda.  I  have  seen 
his  daughter,  who  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Roxburg,  the  superintend- 
ent of  the  Company's  botanic  garden,  and  my  intimate  friend. 
I  learnt  no  particulars  from  her. 

'  We  have  a  prospect  of  soon  setting  up  a  printing-press  at 
Mudnabatty.  A  letter  foundry  is  set  up  at  Calcutta  for  country 
characters.  Mr.  Powel  is  making  a  press.  Mr.  Udney  will 
advance  ready  money  on  the  credit  of  bills  on  the  Society,  and 
I  believe  will  contribute  generously.  Our  friend  Fernandez 
sets  his  hand  to  the  work.  I  wish  the  Society  would  present 
us  with  a  fount  of  English  letter,  and  some  Greek  and  Hebrew. 
Arabic  we  shall  get  here.  I  hope  soon  to  get  the  Bible  published. 


220  MEMOIR    or    DR.  CAREY. 

'  My  Christian  love  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Home,  and  to  all  your 
friends,  and  to  all  the  jninisters  or  others  who  care  for  us. 
Brother  Fountain  is  well,  and  joins  in  love.  We  are  all  well. 
I  have  four  sons.  Brother  Thomas  went  to  Calcutta  some 
time  ago ;  then  concluded  to  practise  surgery  there ;  to-day 
writes  me  that  he  is  coming  back. 

'  Indeed  I  am,  very  affectionately  yours,  W.  Carey.' 

To  THE  Baptist  Society. 

'  Hoogly  River,  near  Plassy,  Jan.  10,  1799. 
'  Dear  and  honored  Brethren, 

'I  am  now  on  a  journey  to  Calcutta;  and  when  I  tell  you 
that  the  continual  motion  of  the  boat  I  am  in,  occasioned  by 
the  oars,  shakes  me  all  the  time  I  write,  you  will  excuse  the 
shortness  of  my  letter.  Yet  I  must  embrace  this  opportunity 
of  writing,  because  the  ships  are  under  despatch,  and  I  shall 
scarcely  arrive  time  enough  to  send  this  by  them. 

'I  am  sensible  of  the  honor  you  have  done  me  by  appointing 
me  your  treasurer  in  India;  and  accordingly  I  send  enclosed 
the  accounts  of  the  Society  in  this  country,  brought  up  to  the 
fii-st  instant,  by  which  you  will  understand  the  whole  of  our 
temporal  concerns. 

'1.  The  success  we  meet  with  in  preaching  the  gospel. 
This,  we  must  confess  and  lament,  is  very  far  short  of  what 
we  wish,  and  I  fear  very  short  of  what  you  expect.  Yet  our 
state  is  not  desperate.  The  object  of  our  mission  is  better 
known  than  it  was,  both  to  the  natives  and  to  Europeans ;  and 
though  I  cannot  positively  speak  of  conversions,  yet  we  have 
a  few  concerning  whom  appearances  are  so  hopeful,  and  so 
long  continued,  that,  should  they  fail,  the  disappointment 
would  be  very  great  indeed.  We  preach  to  the  natives  once 
every  day,  when  we  are  at  home,  and  twice  on  Lord's  days ; 
also  once  a  month  at  Dinagepore,  and  once  a  month  at  Malda ; 
besides  our  preaching  to  Europeans.  Brother  Thomas  is  now 
at  Nuddea,  and  has  written  me  word  that  he  has  great  hopes 
concerning  several  persons  there,  and  expects  to  baptize  one 
Brahmun,  Raji  Krishnu,  if  not  more,  on  the  29th  instant,  when 
I  hope  also  to  be  with  him. 

'  Our  sphere  of  action  among  Europeans  is  also  very  con- 
siderably enlarged  the  past  year ;  for  we  preach  to  a  congre- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  221 

gation  of  Europeans  at  Malda,  and  to  another  at  Dinagepore, 
each  once  a  month,  and  I  trust  not  without  success:  but  lime 
must  determine  whether  our  hopes  are  well  founded  or  not, 
though  I  can  scarcely  doubt.  Brother  Fountain  frequently 
preaches  in  English  and  in  Bengali,  at  home,  where  the  peo- 
ple, being  accustomed  to  him,  can  understand  him  mucli 
better  than  they  can  at  other  places.  He  is  a  good  man,  and 
greatly  desires  the  salvation  of  the  heathen. 

'2.  Translating  and  publishing  the  Scriptures.  This  is  an 
object  which  has  been  always  very  near  my  heart.  I  have 
now  finished  the  Pentateuch,  Psalms,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
Lamentations,  Ezekiel,  part  of  Daniel,  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment, except  Matthew,  Mark,  and  James,  which  were  formerly 
translated  by  brother  Thomas ;  and  brother  Fountain  is  trans- 
lating from  Joshua  onwards.  He  has  got  through  Judges  and 
Ruth,  except  the  correcting,  which  is  reserved  for  me  to  do. 

'  We  thought  of  publishing  the  New  Testament  alone,  and 
have  received  advice  from  brother  Fuller,  that  the  Society  had 
agreed  to  print  ten  thousand  copies,  and  afterwards  that  they 
had  agreed  to  print  two  thousand,  and  are  sending  paper  for 
that  purpose.  1  wish  paper  had  been  sent  for  the  ten  thousand, 
because  I  hope  to  be  able  to  print  an  impression  of  one  or  two 
thousand  copies  of  the  whole  Scriptures  by  the  beginning  of 
next  year,  and  am,  for  that  purpose,  setting  up  a  press  at  Mud- 
nabatty.  I  some  time  ago  saw  a  printing-press  advertised  for 
sale  in  one  of  the  Calcutta  papers.  This  I  considered  as  an 
opportunity  not  to  be  neglected,  and  accordingly  made  a  pur- 
chase of  it  for  four  hundred  rupees,  and  it  is  set  up  at  my 
house.  A  friend  has  since  made  a  present  of  it  to  the  Society, 
as  you  will  see  by  the  enclosed  accounts.  I  am  now  going  to 
Calcutta,  to  bespeak  types,  and  to  engage  workmen  ;  and  the 
same  friend  has  generously  engaged  to  advance  money  for 
this  purpose,  on  the  credit  of  the  Society,  and  which,  at  the 
lowest  computation,  will  amount  to  £2000  sterling,  to  strike 
off  one  thousand  copies,  and  pay  for  press,  types,  paper,  and 
workmanship.  I  am  not  without  hopes  of  getting  a  good  sub- 
scription towards  it ;  but  I  fear  to  set  it  on  foot  till  the  print- 
ing-house is  complete,  lest  some  unforeseen  accident  should 
put  it  out  of  my  power  to  accomplish  it.  The  Society  must 
be  ready  to  pay  bills  to  the  amount  of  at  least  £2000  sterling, 
20* 


2^  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

whenever  I  shall  find  occasion  to  draw  upon  them,  though  the 
whole  will  not  be  drawn  at  one  time. 

'3.  The  School.  This  now  consists  of  nearly  forty  scholars, 
and  has  till  now  been  wholly  supported  by  brother  Fountain 
and  myself.  The  school  would  have  been  much  larger,  had 
we  been  able  to  have  borne  the  expense ;  but,  as  among  the 
scholars  there  are  several  orphans  whom  we  wholly  maintain, 
we  could  not  prudently  venture  on  any  further  expense.  A 
subscription,  however,  which  was  made  at  Malda  on  the  first 
instant,  after  I  had  preached  a  sermon  on  the  occasion,  will 
enable  us  to  support  it  on  an  enlarged  scale  during  the  present 
year ;  and  if  the  Society  would  allow  a  sum  yearly  for  the 
same  purpose,  I  think  the  money  would  not  be  expended  in 
vain.  The  boys  have  hitherto  learned  to  read  and  write, 
especially  parts  of  the  Scriptures,  and  to  keep  accounts.  We 
may  now  be  able  to  introduce  some  other  useful  branches  of 
knowledge  among  them.  Our  friend  Fernandez,  who,  with  a 
Mr.  Xavier,  accompanies  me  to  Calcutta  in  the  same  budgerow 
or  boat,  intends  to  set  up  a  school  on  our  plan  at  his  own 
expense,  at  Dinagepore.  I  trust  these  schools  may  tend  to 
promote  curiosity  and  inquisitiveness  among  the  rising  gener- 
ation,— qualities  which  are  seldom  found  in  the  natives  of 
Bengal.     I  now  mention  our  wants. 

*  1.  We  want  more  missionaries ;  men  of  mild  tempers, 
good  sense,  genuine  love  to  our  Lord,  and  zeal  for  his  glory. 
Brother  Pearce  wrote  to  me,  wishing  me  to  advise  how  they 
should  be  sent  out.  There  are  no  difficulties  here,  except  at 
their  first  landing,  and  I  know  of  no  serious  ones  then.  But  I 
advise  that  they  come  out  cabin  passengers,  in  a  foreign  ship ; 
and  immediately  on  their  landing  at  Calcutta,  to  procure  a 
boat,  and  a  servant  who  understands  English,  and  having  pur- 
chased a  few  necessary  articles  for  the  journey,  such  as  bread, 
wine,  biscuits,  beds,  mosquito-curtains,  &c.,  to  proceed  imme- 
diately to  Mudnabatty,  without  saying  any  thing  to  any  person 
about  why  they  came  into  the  country.  They  will  get  all 
necessaries  in  one  day,  and  must  be  very  careful  not  to  put 
any  confidence  in  their  servant,  who  will  infallibly  cheat  them. 
They  should  send  a  letter  up  to  me  the  moment  they  land  (by 
post),  and  I  would  take  care  for  them.  Every  difficulty  with 
government  will  be  got  through  afterwards,  if  they  behave 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREV.  223 

peaceably  and  well.  Missionaries  ought  to  follow  some 
secular  employ,  both  for  their  own  support,  and  also  for  the 
following  reason  :  The  governor-general  in  council  annually 
issues  an  order  to  the  magistrate  of  every  district  to  make  a 
return  of  all  Europeans  in  his  district,  not  in  the  service  of  the 
king  or  the  Company,  specifying  their  names,  time  of  arrival, 
ship  in  which  they  came,  employment,  &c.  Was  any  one  on 
this  occasion  to  avow  himself  to  be  a  missionary,  government 
must  come  to  a  point  whether  they  would  permit  persons  to 
remain  in  the  country  who  were  avowed  missionaries.  But 
we  have  no  need  to  conceal  our  real  work  at  any  other  time, 
or  on  any  other  occasion ;  and  were  I  to  be  in  company  with 
Lord  Mornington,  I  should  not  hesitate  to  tell  him  that  I  am  a 
missionary;  though  I  should  not  profess  myself  so  to  be  to  the 
governor-general  in  council,  unless  I  was  driven  to  it  to  pre- 
serve an  unblemished  conscience. 

'2.  I  submit  it  to  the  consideration  of  the  Society,  whether 
we  should  not  be  furnished  with  medicines  gratis.  No  medi- 
cines will  be  sold  by  us,  yet  the  cost  of  them  enters  very 
deeply  into  our  alloAvance.  The  whole  supply  sent  in  the 
Earl  Howe,  amounting  to  £35,  besides  charges  amounting  to 
thirty  per  cent.,  falls  on  me ;  but  the  whole  will  either  be 
administered  to  sick  poor,  or  given  to  any  neighbor  who  is  in 
want,  or  used  in  our  own  families.  Neighboring  gentlemen 
have  often  supplied  us.  Indeed,  considering  the  distance  we 
are  from  medical  assistance,  the  great  expensiveness  of  it,  far 
beyond  our  ability,  and  the  number  of  wretched,  afflicted 
objects  whom  we  continually  see,  and  who  continually  apply 
for  help,  we  ought  never  to  sell  a  pennyworth.  Brother 
Thomas  has  been  the  instrument  of  saving  numbers  of  lives. 
His  house  is  constantly  surrounded  with  the  afflicted ;  and 
the  cures  wrought  by  him  would  have  gained  any  physician 
or  surgeon  in  Europe  the  most  extensive  reputation.  We 
ought  to  be  furnished  yearly  with  at  least  half  a  hundred 
weight  of  Jesuit's  bark.  Other  medicines  we  have  plenty  of 
for  some  time  to  come. 

'  But  I  finish,  by  expressing  our  hope  that  the  Society  will 
not  be  discouraged  by  our  want  of  success.  Consider,  breth- 
ren, that  that  depends  on  the  divine  blessing.  My — I  may  say 
our,  for  were  brethren  Fountain  and  Thomas  with  me,  they 


224  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

would  join  me  in — love  to  you  all,  to  all  our  beloved  brethren 
in  the  ministry,  and  to  all  the  churches ;  also  to  our  Scotch 
brethren,  who  have  shov^^n  themselves  so  ready  to  assist  you ; 
and  believe  me  to  be  your  affectionate  brother  in  the  kingdom 
and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ,  W.  Carey.' 

To  THE  Baptist  Society. 

'  Mudnabatty,  April  1,  1799. 
'  Dear  Brethren, 

'  By  the  last  newspaper,  I  see  that  there  are  two  ships  under 
despatch  for  Europe.  I  therefore  stop  translating  a  day,  to  get 
time  to  write  a  letter  or  two. 

'  I  wrote  to  you,  date  Jan.  10,  current,  on  my  journey  to  Cal- 
cutta, and  now  inform  you,  that  I  fully  succeeded  in  accom- 
phshing  the  end  of  my  journey  thither,  which  was  to  get  types 
cast  for  printing  the  Bible.  The  types  are  now  casting.  A 
gentleman  in  this  neighborhood  has  already  advanced  two 
thousand  four  hundred  rupees,  for  the  expense ;  and  I  have 
drawn  a  set  of  bills  in  triplicate,  dated  March  19th,  current,  on 
Mr.  Thomas  King,  of  Birmingham,  for  the  amount,  in  favor  of 
George  Udney,  Esq.,  at  two  shillings  and  sixpence  per  rupee, 
viz.,  £300  sterling,  which  I  hope  will  be  duly  honored.  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  draw  for  £200  more,  to  finish  the  furniture  of 
the  printing-house,  besides  what  I  shall  want  for  workmen, 
paper,  &c. ;  which,  I  suppose,  will  make  the  whole  expense 
about  £2000,  or  sixteen  thousand  rupees.  The  whole  Bible 
and  New  Testament  will  be  printed  in  four  volumes,  octavo ; 
and  if  I  can  perform  it  for  the  sum  I  have  mentioned,  it  will 
be  the  cheapest  work  that  was  ever  published  in  India,  by  one 
half  I  propose  to  print  one  thousand  copies,  for  it  will  not 
be  in  our  power  to  buy  more  paper,  unless  the  Society  should 
anticipate  our  wants.  Of  this,  however,  if  five  hundred  copies 
can  be  disposed  of  at  thirty-two  rupees  each,  it  will  pay  the 
whole  expense ;  and  we  shall  have  five  hundred  copies  to  give 
away.     1  think  this  may  probably  be  done. 

'  You,  my  dear  friends,  must  expect  nothing  but  what  relates 
to  the  immediate  business  of  the  mission,  in  so  short  a  letter 
as  I  must  be  forced  to  write  at  this  time.  The  translation  is 
going  on.  There  remains  to  be  done  now  from  1  Samuel  to 
Job,  (which  brother  Fountain  is  hard  at  work  on,  only  I  shall 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  225 

correct  the  copy,)  and  Job,  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  The  Song 
of  Songs,  Zechariah,  and  Malachi,  which  I  shall  translate. 
We  now  have  the  end  of  this  part  of  our  labor  in  view,  and 
feel  much  animated  thereby,  and  induced  to  labor  with  more 
diligence.  Our  friends  in  England,  however,  must  be  con- 
tented to  receive  fewer  letters  till  this  important  work  is  fin- 
ished. 

'  Our  school  is  considerably  increased,  and  there  is  a  pleas- 
ing improvement  among  the  children.  We  arc  enabled  this 
year  to  carry  it  on  upon  a  rather  enlarged  scale,  by  a  voluntary 
contribution  thereto,  made  amongst  a  circle  of  our  friends  in 
this  neighborhood. 

'Of  our  labors  in  preaching,  I  wish  to  say  nothing,  till  I  can 
say,  without  a  doubt,  that  we  have  wrought  some  deliverance 
in  the  earth.  We  preach  at  Malda  and  Dinagepore  regularly 
once  a  month,  and  at  home  as  we  have  been  accustomed  to 
do.     Appearances  are  much  as  when  I  wrote  to  you  before. 

'Brother  Thomas  is  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cal- 
cutta, with  his  family.  Brother  Fountain  is  with  me,  and  is 
indefatigable  in  his  attention  to  improvement:  he  improves 
much  in  the  language. 

'  A  Mr.  Forsyth  is  lately  arrived  in  this  country,  I  suppose 
from  the  London  Missionary  Society ;  but  it  is  uncertain,  as 
he  has  brought  no  letter  to  any  one  that  I  know  of  I  was 
several  times  in  his  company,  and  think  him  a  valuable  man. 
He  is  at  Calcutta. 

'  A  Calcutta  paper  also  mentions  that  all  the  missionaries 
are  come  from  Otaheite,  and  the  neighboring  islands,  to  New 
Holland.  This  is  a  singular  providence,  but  the  ways  of  God 
are  inscrutable. 

'  You,  as  a  body,  are  not  forgotten  by  us  in  our  addresses  at 
the  throne  of  grace.  We  also  have  confidence  that  we  are  not 
forgotten  by  you.     Brethren,  pray  for  us. 

'Thus  I  have  written  a  mere  letter  of  news.  I  hope  the  So- 
ciety will  not  be  discouraged  by  the  little  positive  success  that 
has  hitherto  attended  our  labors  ;  but  rather  consider  it  as  a 
call  to  persevere,  to  double  exertions,  and  to  send  out  more 
missionaries.  God  may  refuse  to  succeed  our  attempts, 
and   yet   may   greatly   bless   those   of  others.     At  any   rate, 


226  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Hindostan  must  be  among  the  all  nations  that  shall  call  Him 
blessed.  I  am,  dear  brethren, 

'  Most  affectionately  yours, 

'W.  Caret.' 

To  Mr.  Fuller. 

^  Mudnahatty,  July  17,  1799. 
'My  very  dear  Brother, 

'I  have  received  yours  of  April  27  and  August  22,  1798;  also 
one  from  the  Society,  dated  Sept.  20,  and  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Ward,  written  at  a  meeting  of  ministers,  at  Kettering,  date 
Oct.  22.  All  these  letters  have  given  us  much  pleasure, 
particularly  the  two  last  mentioned,  which  acquaint  us  with 
the  probability  of  our  being  soon  joined  by  other  mission- 
aries. I  do  not  know  of  any  ships  being  likely  to  sail  soon, 
but  begin  to  write,  that  I  may  be  ready  when  a  despatch  takes 
place. 

'  The  success  of  the  gospel,  and,  among  other  things,  the 
hitherto  unextinguishable  missionary  flame  in  England  and  all 
the  western  world,  give  us  no  little  encouragement,  and  animate 
our  hearts.  1  wish  we  could  warm  yours  with  good  tidings  in 
return. 

'  Yours  of  Aug.  22  demands  a  reply  to  several  things  which 
I  shall  first  attend  to,  and  afterwards  conclude  with  what 
respects  ourselves. 

'  I  am  very  sorry  that  you  were  so  much  hurt  by  brother  F.'s 
letter  ;  and  once  for  all  1  think  I  may  assure  you  that  you  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  him.  He  is  not  without  sentiments  upon 
the  head  you  mention,  and  sometimes  defends  them  perhaps 
further  than  might  be  wished,  though  I  have  not  seen  him  for- 
ward in  obtruding  conversation  on  that  subject.  It  is  true  he 
now  and  then  throws  out  an  idea  rather  jocose  to  an  intimate 
friend,  on  particular  occasions,  without  intention  of  giving  the 
least  oflTence.  I  think  your  fears  arose  from  the  best  of  prin- 
ciples, but  also  think  they  were  carried  to  excess  on  this 
occasion,  and  also  tliat  your  observations  thereon  were  too 
strong.  The  miscarriage  of  the  African  mission  is  a  sufficient 
apology  for  the  greatest  jealousy,  yet  I  wish  you  to  be 
tender.    You  were  near  killing  him.     Be  assured,  however, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  227 

that  he  is  a  good  man,  and  fear  not  to  place  a  proper  confi- 
dence in  him. 

'  The  visit  which  you  propose  for  us  to  make  to  the  governor- 
general,  Lord  Mornington,  though  proposed  in  the  utmost 
simplicity  of  your  heart,  yet  excited  a  little  risibility  in  us.  I 
wish  I  could  make  you  understand  a  little  about  legal  settle- 
ments, &c. ;  but  you  must  first  drop  your  English  ideas,  and 
get  Indian  ones.  No  such  thing  as  a  legal  settlement,  in  the 
English  sense,  can  ever  be  made  here ;  because  a  general  law 
has  passed,  prohibiting  Europeans  from  settling  in  this  coun- 
try.    This  general   law   cannot   be   reversed,   unless   by   the 

English  p 1.     All  Europeans,  therefore,  only  reside  here 

by  connivance,  and  some  are  permitted  to  stay  in  the  country 
for  a  term  of  years,  the  Company  having  covenanted  to  protect 
such  persons  while  they  observe  the  laws.  Once  a  year  the 
magistrate  of  every  district  has  orders  to  make  a  return 
to  government  of  all  persons  (Europeans)  in  his  district,  with 
their  employment,  and  whether  they  have  executed  covenants 
or  not. 

'  Were  a  person  on  this  occasion  to  return  his  name  as  a 
missionary,  it  would  be  putting  government  to  the  proof,  and 
obliging  them  to  come  to  a  point  on  the  subject  whether 
missionaries  sliould  be  allowed  to  settle  in  the  country,  as 
such,  or  not;  and  there  cannot  be  much  doubt  but  it  would 
be  negatived.  But  when  a  person  returns  his  name  as  a 
manufacturer,  no  suspicion  can  arise,  if  his  conduct  be  good 
in  other  respects ;  and  it  would  be  more  proper  for  new  persons 
to  appear  as  assistants  to  those  in  covenant  with  government 
than  otherwise. 

'I  would  not,  however,  have  you  suppose  that  we  are  obliged 
to  conceal  ourselves,  or  our  work :  no  such  thing.  We  preach 
before  magistrates  and  judges;  and  were  I  to  be  in  the  com- 
pany of  Lord  Mornington,  I  should  not  hesitate  to  declare 
myself  a  missionary  to  the  heathen,  though  I  would  not  on  any 
account  return  myself  as  such  to  the  governor-general  in 
council. 

'You  should  also  know  that  Europeans  are  not  permitted  to 
purchase  or  occupy  more  than  fifty  biggahs  of  land,  or  about 
twenty  acres ;  so  that  all  business  is  carried  on  by  purchasing 
the  produce  of  the  soil  of  the  natives  ;  and  whoever  engages 


228  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

in  any  business  mvist  acquaint  the  board  of  trade  therewith; 
so  that  such  a  settlement  as  you  propose  for  us  to  make  is 
impossible.  I  am,  however,  doing  what  will  approximate 
as  near  to  it  as  circumstances  admit,  if  the  Society  approve  of 
the  plan. 

'A  little  time  ago  I  took  a  small  indigo  work  near  this  place, 
on  my  own  account.  I  took  it  of  Mr.  Udney,  at  the  rate  it 
stood  at  in  his  books,  viz.,  with  a  debt  of  three  thousand  rupees 
lying  on  it.  It  was  an  appendage  to  Mudnabatty,  but  too 
distant  to  be  of  any  use,  unless  detached.  My  reasons  were 
these  :  I  have  long  thought  that  Mudnabatty  must  be  evacu- 
ated, and  have  been  expecting  it  every  year ;  in  that  case  it 
would  be  an  asylum  for  my  family.  If  I  should  (contrary 
to  all  expectation)  remain  here,  it  would  be  a  situation  for 
my  sons,  in  the  neighborhood,  who  are  now  large  lads,  and 
must  be  brought  up  to  business.  Or,  if  more  missionaries 
should  arrive,  it  might  be  converted  into  a  missionary  set- 
tlement. 

'  Since  this,  I  learn  by  yours  of  Sept.  20,  1798,  that  more 
missionaries  are  coming  out,  and  am  therefore  ready  to  give 
up  the  place  for  a  settlement ;  and  have  done  so,  provisionally, 
till  I  hear  from  the  Society  on  that  head. 

'  Sept.  28.  Since  writing  the  above,  the  indigo  works  at 
Mudnabatty  are  actually  given  up;  and  my  allowance  from 
that  place  ceases  on  the  31st  of  December.  The  indigo  was 
almost  totally  destroj^ed  by  an  inundation,  which  came  on  just 
after  sowing  the  seed.  I  think  Mr.  U.  is  perfectly  right  in  the 
step  he  has  taken :  the  place  was  absolutely  unfit  for  the  pur- 
pose which  it  was  designed  for.  His  loss  is  great :  I  am  truly 
sorry  for  him.  Our  difficulties  also  will  not  be  small ;  but  I 
am  not  discouraged.  If  we  are  all  of  one  heart,  and  God  grant 
his  blessing,  all  will  be  surmounted. 

'  We  are  now  necessitated  to  settle  at  Kidderpore  (the  name 
of  the  place  I  have  taken),  where  I  am  erecting  houses  and 
other  buildings,  in  expectation  that  our  brethren,  Ward  and 
Brunsden,  are  not  far  off.  You  are  informed  that  a  debt  of 
five  thousand  rupees  to  Mr.  U.  lies  on  the  place ;  to  pay  which, 
he  is  to  receive  the  indigo  made  at  the  works  till  the  whole  is 
paid  off.  I  have  also  nearly  expended  the  little  money  I  had 
saved  upon  the  concern,  and  must  expend  the  whole.    Brother 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  229 

Fountain  and  myself  have  consulted  on  our  situation,  and 
think  it  necessary  that  we  should  draw  on  the  Society  for 
£200  sterling,  to  erect  dwelling-houses  for  four  families,  and 
other  conveniences  ;  and  that  the  allowance  which  the  Society 
make  the  missionaries  be  appropriated  to  forming  a  common 
table  (a  small  reserve  excepted),  the  debt  on  the  works,  and 
necessary  outlay,  to  be  repaid  by  the  concern.  We  must 
endure  much,  struggle  hard,  and  perhaps  be  obliged  to  draw 
an  additional  £100  from  the  Society,  till  this  end  is  accom- 
plished :  but  I  see  no  other  way  to  preserve  the  existence  of 
the  mission. 

'Kidderpore  is  only  twelve  miles  from  Mudnabatty.  Look 
in  Runnell's  chart,  No.  9,  for  Tanquam  river,  on  which  you 
will  see  a  place  called  Pattergotta  (it  ought  to  have  been 
Pathurghatta,  from  pathur,  a  stone,  and  ghatta,  a  way,  or  wharf,  it 
being  the  ruins  of  a  very  ancient  stone  bridge).  Just  on 
the  top  of  the  last  t  in  gotta  is  the  situation  of  Kidder- 
pore. Your  letters  may  be  directed  to  us,  as  they  always 
have  been,  at  Malda,  or  at  Dinagepore :  we  shall  be  sure  to 
get  them. 

'  Before  this  time  I  think  you  must  be  tired  with  reading 
such  a  letter  as  this,  about  nothing  but  things  temporal.  I 
much  wish  I  could  say  any  thing  calculated  to  gratify  the 
friends  of  vital  godliness;  but  respecting  myself  1  have  nothing 
interesting  to  say  ;  and  if  I  had,  it  appears  foreign  to  the  design 
of  a  mission  for  the  missionaries  to  be  always  speaking  of 
their  own  experiences.  I  keep  several  journals,  it  is  true, 
relating  to  things  private  and  public,  respecting  the  mission^ 
articles  of  curiosity  and  science ;  but  they  are  sometimes  con- 
tinued and  sometimes  discontinued:  besides,  most  things 
contained  in  them  are  of  too  general  or  trivial  a  nature  to  send 
to  England,  and  I  imagine  could  have  no  effect,  except  to  mock, 
the  expectations  of  our  numerous  friends,  who  are  waiting  to 
hear  of  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  and  overthrow  of 
Satan's  kingdom. 

'I  therefore  only   observe,  respecting  myself,  that  I  have 

much  proof  of  the  vileness  of  my  heart,  much  more  than  I 

thought  of  till  lately:  and,  indeed,  I  often  fear  that,  instead  of 

being  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  I  may 

21 


230  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY. 

some  time  dishonor  the  cause  in  which  I  am  engaged.  I  have 
hitherto  had  much  experience  of  the  daily  supports  of  a 
gracious  God;  but  I  am  conscious  that  if  those  supports 
were  intermitted  but  for  a  httle  time,  my  sinful  dispositions 
would  infallibly  predominate.  At  present  I  am  kept,  but  am 
not  one  of  those  who  are  strong,  and  do  exploits. 

'  I  have  often  thought  that  a  spirit  of  observation  is  necessary 
in  order  to  our  doing  or  communicating  much  good;  and 
were  it  not  for  a  very  phlegmatic  habit,  I  think  my  soul  would 
be  richer.  I  however  appear  to  myself  to  have  lost  much  of 
my  capacity  for  making  observations,  improvements,  &c.,  or  of 
retaining  what  I  attend  to  closely.  For  instance,  I  have  been 
near  three  j^ears  learning  the  Sanscrit  language,  yet  know 
very  little  of  it.  This  is  only  a  specimen  of  what  I  feel  my- 
self to  be  in  every  respect.  I  try  to  observe,  to  imprint  what  I 
see  and  hear  on  my  memory,  and  to  feel  my  heart  properly 
affected  with  the  circumstances ;  yet  my  soul  is  impoverislied, 
and  I  have  something  of  a  lethargic  disease  cleaving  to  my 
body.  I  feel  no  pain,  or  decay  of  strength,  but  an  abundant 
inclination  to  sleep,  attended  with  a  great  sense  of  weariness, 
even  when  I  have  not  walked  a  mile.  I  know  that  this  coun- 
try requires  more  sleep  than  a  colder  one  ;  and  a  sleep  in  the 
afternoon,  especially  in  the  hot  season,  relieves  me  more  than 
any  thing.  Indeed,  without  it  I  could  not  do  any  thing.  My 
inertness  of  mind  may  be  in  some  measure  owing  thereto, 
though  many  other  causes  contribute  to  it.  Perhaps  my 
sinful  propensity  to  ease  and  negligence,  added  to  sameness 
of  society  and  employment,  and  the  few  opportunities  I  have 
of  varied  religious  discourse,  may  act  powerfully  to  the  injury 
of  my  soul. 

'  At  no  time  have  the  affairs  of  the  mission  appeared  more 
gloomy,  in  point  of  success,  than  at  the  present.  Yardee  has 
not  only  left  Christ,  but  seems  to  have  forgot  the  very  things 
about  which  he  so  pleasingly  conversed.  Sookman  sometimes 
talks  about  religion ;  but  after  so  many  disappointments,  I  al- 
most fear  to  hope.  Hurry  Charon  appears  in  a  more  promis- 
ing situation  than  any  other.  It  is,  however,  with  difficulty 
that  we  can  converse  with  him,  because  his  pronunciation  is 
very  mumbling  and  indistinct.    He  is  a  very  poor  man,  in- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  231 

volved  in  worldly  difficulties,  which  depress  him  much, 
and  yet  he  walks  consistently.  No  one  has  appeared  to  be 
awakened  this  year,  or  even  to  have*  been  stirred  in  the  least 
degree. 

'  The  school  is  promising,  and  God  has  provided  means  to 
carry  it  on  another  year.  Mr.  Parr,  of  Dinagepore,  a  gentle- 
man I  have  often  mentioned,  sent  me  a  note  a  little  time  ago, 
informing  me  that  it  was  the  wish  of  the  gentlemen  there  to 
contribute  to  the  support  of  our  school,  and  desiring  me  to 
preach  a  sermon  and  make  a  collection  for  that  purpose,  the 
next  time  I  went  to  that  place.     This  I  did  on  the  15th  instant. 

1  preached  from  Luke  vi,  36:  'Be  merciful,  as  your  Father  is 
merciful.'  The  collection  amounted  to  two  hundred  and 
thirty-four  rupees,  or  about  thirty  pounds.  Blessed  be  God, 
another  school  is  also  set  up  in  that  town  in  imitation  of  ours, 
which  I  hope  may  be  useful. 

'  The  translation  is  nearly  finished.  I  am  now  about  the 
twelfth  chapter  of  1  Chronicles,  which  is  the  last  book  I  ex- 
pect  to    translate.      Brother  Fountain  has  got  2  Kings  and 

2  Chronicles  to  go  through,  when  the  whole  will  be  completed. 
Brother  Fountain's  part  of  the  translation  is  Joshua,  Judges, 
Ruth,  1  and  2  Samuel,  1  and  2  Kings,  and  2  Chronicles ;  brother 
Thomas's,  Matthew,  Mark  (ii — x),  Luke,  and  James.  All  the 
rest  is  mine,  as  also  the  correction  of  the  whole. 

'  This  work  has  been  long  in  hand,  yet  has  engrossed  very 
much  of  our  time :  when  it  is  finished,  we  shall  be  more  at 
leisure  for  itinerant  labors.  I  had  a  letter,  a  month  ago  or 
more,  informing  me  that  the  types  and  furniture  for  printing 
would  be  finished  in  about  eight  days ;  so  that  I  conclude  they 
are  coming  up  by  this  time ;  but  at  any  rate,  brother  Fountain, 
who  is  going  to  Calcutta,  to  meet  our  brethren.  Ward  and 
Brunsdon,  and  a  female  companion  for  himself,  will  bring 
them  up. 

'  Though  we  have  had  no  success  among  the  heathen  or 
Mahomedans  this  year,  yet  we  have  reason  to  rejoice  in  the 
conversion  of  Mr.  Cunninghame,  registrar  of  the  court,  and 
assistant  to  the  judge  at  Dinagepore.  I  look  upon  this  as  the 
greatest  event  that  has  occurred  since  our  coming  to  this 
country.     He  has  a  soul  far  above  the  common  size.     His 


232  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARKY. 

coolness  and  consistency  are  very  great,  and  his  understanding 
commands  respect  from  all. 

'Oct.  16.  On  looking  back,  I  see  that  it  is  now  twelve 
months  since  I  wrote  to  you  before.  I  am  ashamed,  and  can 
make  no  better  excuse  than  that  I  frequently  intended  it,  and 
indeed  began  this  long  ago,  as  you  will  see.  I  have,  however, 
had  more  engagements,  and  far  less  leisure,  this  year,  than 
ever  I  had  before.  And  now,  the  affairs  of  the  mission  press 
harder  than  ever,  as  we  are  just  removing  and  erecting  new 
houses  for  ourselves  to  live  in.  The  whole  of  the  manage- 
ment of  these  temporal  concerns  has  hitherto  fallen  on  me. 
I  have  to  find  money,  and  to  lay  it  out,  which  require  much 
attention  and  care. 

'If  our  brethren  arrive  as  expected,  we  must  erect  four 
dwelling-houses,  a  house  for  worship  and  social  concerns,  and 
another  for  printing.  We  have  laid  the  expense  of  these 
buildings  at  two  hundred  pounds  sterling,  for  which  we  must 
draw  on  the  Society ;  also  for  the  expenses  of  a  Pundit  and  a 
writer,  whom  I  have  hitherto  kept  at  my  own  expense,  amount- 
ing to  about  eighteen  rupees,  or  forty-five  shillings,  per  month. 
I  have  expended  my  own  money  on  Kidderpore,  and  my  sal- 
ary from  Mr.  U.  is  ceasing,  which  obliges  us  to  this  step.  The 
two  servants  mentioned  are  absolutely  necessary  to  the  trans- 
lation, therefore  they  cannot  be  discharged.  Brother  F.  and 
myself  have  consulted  about  our  situation,  and  have  concluded 
that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  draw  for  the  expense  of  erect- 
ing our  habitations,  and  desirable  that  the  settlement  should 
clear  its  owi]  debt  by  its  produce.  If  the  mission  can  but  be 
established,  I  am  content. 

'I  would  communicate  something  on  the  natural  history  of 
the  country,  in  addition  to  what  I  have  before  written ;  but  no 
part  of  that  pleasing  study  is  so  familiar  to  me  as  the  vegetable 
world.  This,  however,  may  not  much  entertain  others;  I  shall 
therefore  say  something  of  the  quadrupeds. 

'  Oct.  27.  The  brethren  and  sisters  all  arrived  safe,  on  the 
12th  instant.  We  received  a  letter  from  them  only  to-day,  it 
having  lain  twelve  days  on  the  road.  They  are  well;  but  I 
can  add  no  more  about  them  till  I  know  more.    Brother  Foun- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY.  233 

tain  sets  off  to-morrow  morning  to  meet  them.  I  hope  very 
soon  to  write  again,  but  send  this  by  him.  My  second  son  is 
now  dangerously  ill  with  a  fever :  it  appears  uncertain  wheth- 
er he  will  recover. 

'  My  Christian  love  to  all  the  churches  and  ministers,  and 
such  in  your  church  whom  I  have  often  expressed  by  name. 
'  I  am,  very  affectionately  yours, 

'W.Carey.' 


21* 


CHAPTER    V. 


SECTION  I. 


REMARKS  ON  THE  STATE  OF  THE   MISSION   PREPARATORY  TO  ITS 

REMOVAL    TO    SERAMPORE LETTERS  FROM  MR.  CUNNINGHAME 

NEWLY   ARRIVED    MISSIONARIES LETTER    FROM    MR.  FOUN- 
TAIN  ^LETTERS  FROM  MR.  BRUNSDON. 

Several  incidents  at  this  time  produce  a  perfectly  new 
epoch  in  Mr.  Carey's  missionary  life.  The  district  in  which 
he  resided  had,  indeed,  nothing  to  recommend  it  as  the  per- 
manent seat  of  an  important  mission.  It  was  no  place  of 
public  resort ;  and  had  no  celebrity  attached  to  it,  either  reli- 
gious, literary,  or  commercial.  Nothing  could  have  been 
more  decisively  providential  than  were  the  circumstances 
which  led  Mr.  C.  thither.  His  residence  there  had  also 
answered  some  important  ends.  His  object  had  become 
known,  and  his  character  appreciated,  throughout  a  respect- 
able circle  of  European  observers,  whose  esteem  he  had 
conciliated,  whose  liberality  in  the  cause  of  the  gospel  now 
began  to  evince  itself,  and  whose  respect  and  fervent  attach- 
ment he  continued  to  enjoy,  unimpaired,  to  the  close  of  life. 
Here,  too,  he  had,  by  the  most  sedulous  industry,  prepared 
himself  for  future  and  far  more  eminent  service.  Here  the 
mission  to  India  was  well  cradled ;  but  to  mature  its  strength 
and  to  put  forth  its  energies,  it  must  be  translated  to  another 
and  more  favorable  region. 

The  indigo  works  which  Mr.  Udney  erected  at  Moypaldiggy 
and  Mudnabatty,  the  superintendence  of  which  had  furnished 
support  to  Mr.  Carey  and  his  colleague  in  the  time  of  their 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  235 

extremity,  had  entirely  failed ;  and  the  successive  and  severe 
losses  which  their  benevolent  friend  had  experienced,  deter- 
mined him  to  break  them  up.  Mr.  Carey  had  commenced  in 
the  same  line  for  himself  at  Kidderpore,  about  ten  miles  dis- 
tant, at  considerable  outlay,  and  without  any  advantage  to  his 
circumstances,  but  rather  to  their  detriment.  His  way  was 
hedged  in,  and  his  temporal  resources,  there  is  reason  to  fear, 
were  fast  drying  up. 

At  this  time,  in  the  close  of  1799,  four  new  missionaries 
arrived  from  England.  The  harsh  and  jealous  policy  of  the 
honorable  Company,  forbad  their  settling  in  the  British  domin- 
ions. About  fourteen  miles  up  the  country,  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Hoogly,  was  a  small  Danish  settlement.  Thither 
they  fled,  to  seek  the  patronage  which  their  own  countrymen 
sternly  withheld.  The  governor  of  this  station  had  enjoyed  the 
instructions  of  the  celebrated  missionary  Schwartz.  lie  gladly 
received  them,  and  never  withdrew  from  them  the  shield 
of  his  protection  in  any  one  of  the  trying  many  vicissitudes 
which  subsequently  befell  them.  The  conduct  of  the  British 
authorities  in  India,  upon  the  subject  of  religion,  was  strangely 
anomalous  and  absurd ;  arising  partly  from  ignorance  of  the 
true  genius  of  Christianity,  and  the  legitimate  means  of  dif- 
fusing it;  and  partly  from  a  profane  indifference  to  the  spirit- 
ual v/elfare  of  the  millions  they  governed,  and  a  repugnance 
and  hostility  to  whatever  might  seem  only  to  interfere  with 
their  own  secular  ambition  and  cupidity.  It  is  matter  as  un- 
deniable as  justly  to  be  deplored,  that  no  class  of  persons  are 
to  be  found  less  acquainted  with  the  nature  and  design  of 
Christianity,  than  are  professedly  Christian  legislators  and 
Christian  rulers.  How  should  it  be  otherwise,  while  so  few 
among  them  ever  give  it  an  hour  of  their  serious  attention  ? 
Is  it  to  be  supposed  that  their  spirits  should  be  found  in  affini- 
ty with  principles  they  never  study,  and  to  the  majesty  of 
which  they  never  design  to  bow?  And  yet,  they  hesitate  not 
to  make  laws,  and  to  interpose  their  authority,  to  regulate  the 
faith  and  to  control  the  religious  profession  and  conduct  of 
mankind.  What,  then,  have  professedly  Christian  legislators 
nothing  to  do, — no  function  to  discharge,  with  respect  to  the 
religion  they  profess  ?  Yes,  two  things :  one  in  common  with 
all  other  men,  which  is,  to  become  religious ;    and  another, 


236  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

connected  with  their  office,  that  is,  to  afford  equal  protection 
to  all  who  are  so ;  that  they  may  safely  profess  and  freely 
promulge  what  they  believe. 

It  is  the  bane  of  rulers,  and  the  calamity  of  those  whom 
they  govern,  that  they  never  view  Christianity,  any  more  than 
they  do  other  systems  of  religion,  but  in  combination  with 
legislative  authority,  and  as  constituting  national  distinction. 
It  is  therefore  difficult,  with  them,  to  dissociate  its  promulga- 
tion from  reasons  of  state  and  measures  of  coercion.  Some 
such  ideas  seem  to  be  the  legitimate  result  of  all  human  estab- 
lishments of  religion.  For,  whether  we  view  them  in  their 
principles,  or  trace  them  in  their  practical  details,  in  all  coun- 
tries, and  through  every  generation,  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
conceive  of  them,  but  as  prejudicing  some  important  truth, 
violating  some  attribute  of  our  intellectual,  moral,  and  ac- 
countable nature,  and  incurring  some  spiritual  detriment,  or 
inflicting  some  social  wrong.  Gentlemen,  therefore,  who 
constitute  the  presiding  authorities  abroad,  though  of  the 
establishment  of  their  country,  yet  resolving  all  religions,  of 
whatever  denomination,  into  a  matter  of  mere  expediency,  and 
with  the  page  of  history  open  to  them,  it  is  no  wonder  if  their 
apprehensions  should  be  somewhat  wakefuh 

When,  many  years  ago,  an  interference  on  the  part  of  gov- 
ernment was  sought  to  be  averted,  it  was  said,  by  his  excel- 
lency the  governor-general  of  India,  '  Do  you  not  think.  Dr. 
Carey,  it  would  be  wrong  to  force  the  Hindus  to  become 
Christians?'  ' My  lord,' it  was  replied,  ' the  thing  is  impossi- 
ble ;  we  may  indeed  force  men  to  be  hypocrites ;  but  no  power 
on  earth  can  force  men  to  become  Christians ! ' 

But  it  is  one  thing  for  governors  to  exert  a  direct  authority 
for  the  forcible  establishment  of  Christianity ;  and  quite  anoth- 
er, to  thwart  and  formally  to  obstruct  those  who,  by  rational 
methods,  seek  to  diffuse  it.  The  missionaries  desired  nothing 
beyond  simple  permission  to  preach  the  gospel.  But  this  was 
denied  them ;  and  for  many  years  they  continued  to  be  watched 
narrowly,  to  be  viewed  with  suspicion ;  and  were  sometimes 
threatened  with  an  arrest  of  their  labors,  and  an  expulsion 
from  the  country.  The  period  now  under  review  was  one  of 
great  and  extensive  darkness  and  demoralization.  Whilst  the 
government  frowned  upon  Christian  efforts,  it  did  but  sympa- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  237 

thize  with  the  spkit  and  echo  the  tone  of  European  society 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  Indian  empire.  By  the 
almost  total  absence  of  an  evangelical  ministry,  and,  in  many 
remote  stations,  the  total  destitution  of  all  means  whatever  of 
religious  improvement,  there  was  nothing  to  restrain  the  exor- 
bitancy of  human  passions,  or  prevent  renunciation  of  princi- 
ple. The  Sabbath  was  universally  desecrated;  the  primary 
law  of  social  existence,  the  safeguard  of  virtue,  was  despised ; 
and  concubinage,  with  its  concomitant  abominations,  was 
awfully  common.  A  practical  assimilation  to  heathenism  soon 
obliterated  the  influence  and  almost  the  recollection  of  a 
nominally  Christian  education ;  and  '  the  filthiness  of  the  flesh' 
made  way  for  '  the  filthiness  of  the  spirit,'  and,  by  their  mutual 
corroboration,  both  became  fearfully  rancorous.  Men  feared 
to  read  their  Bible,  because  it  denounced  their  crimes  and 
awakened  their  dread  of  punishments.  The  next  thing  was, 
to  hope  the  Bible  they  had  neglected  was  not  true  ;  then  to 
feign  to  think  it  false ;  and  soon,  being  able  to  believe  the  lie 
which  depravity  had  led  them  to  forge,  they  openly  impugned 
and  denounced  it.  Hence  Hinduism  was  '  a  most  beautiful  reli- 
gion,' Mahomedanism  had  but  little  in  it  objectionable ;  but 
Christianity  was  as  revolting  to  the  prevailing  habits  and  tastes 
of  that  day,  as  was  its  Holy  Founder  to  that  of  the  generation 
who  witnessed  his  incarnation  and  ministry,  and  in  whose 
esteem  he  was  '  without  form  and  comeliness.'  Englishmen 
wei'e  literally  a  *  by- word  and  a  proverb'  among  the  heathen, 
who  used  sarcastically  to  remark,  that  English  people  were 
distinguished  fi^om  all  others;  for,  whereas  all  people  per- 
formed some  religious  offices,  and  had  some  god  whom  they 
acknowledged,  the  English  neglected  all,  and  were  atheists. 

So  anomalous  was  the  conduct  of  government,  that  whilst 
it  proscribed  the  simple  unaided  dissemination  of  the  gospel, 
it  not  only  protected  idolatry,  but  condescended  to  regulate  its 
rites,  and  even  to  profit  by  some  of  its  practices.  Witness  its 
interest  in  the  temple  of  Juggunnath  and  the  pilgrim  tax. 
What  was  worse,  if  indeed  worse  could  be,  their  judicial 
agents  were  compelled  to  sign  and  issue  the  order  by  virtue 
of  which  widows  were  burned  upon  the  funeral  pile,  and  thus 
to  become  accessory  to  deeds  of  blood.  To  the  praise  of 
some  benevolent  individuals  in  this  country,  especially  to  John 


238  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Poynder,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  James  Peggs,  general  Baptist  mission- 
ary, whose  patient  assiduity  in  collecting  all  available  informa- 
tion upon  the  subject,  and  plying  the  proper  authorities  and 
the  public  mind  with  every  argument  which  humanity  and  the 
gospel  could  suggest,  yielded  to  no  discouragements,  until  the 
suttee  flames  were  quenched.  And  they  might  as  easily  have 
been  quenched  twenty  years  before,  for  any  valid  reason  that 
existed  to  the  contrary.  '  How  awful  a  thing  it  is,'  said  a  mis- 
sionary one  day  to  his  Pundit,  '  that  you  Hindus  should  burn 
the  living  with  the  dead ! '  '  Do  you  think  so  ?'  was  the  reply. 
'  Why  then  do  not  you  English  put  a  stop  to  it  ?  you  are  now 
the  lords  of  the  soil.'  '  Why,  we  fear,  lest  we  should  hurt  your 
prejudices.'  'Indeed!'  he  answered, 'and  do  you  not  think 
our  prejudices  are  as  much  hurt  by  paying  you  taxes,  as  they 
would  be  by  keeping  our  daughters  alive  ?'  No  terms  of 
eulogy  can  equal  the  merits  of  Lord  Wm.  Bentinck,  late  gov- 
ernor-general of  India,  whose  enlightened  and  intrepid  policy 
enabled  him  to  effect  the  abolition  of  this  rite  with  so  much 
judgment  and  promptitude.  A  petition  was  afterwards  for- 
warded from  some  devotees  of  the  Hindu  superstition  to  the 
king  in  council,  for  its  restitution ;  but,  happy  for  the  interests 
of  humanity,  and  for  the  British  name,  it  was  disallowed. 
Lamentable  to  say,  this  petition  found  very  respectable  profes- 
sional talents  to  urge  its  prayer.  What  would  have  been  the 
feelings  of  those  who  employed  such  talents  in  such  a  cause 
if  their  advocacy  had  succeeded ! 

The  religious  reader  can  be  no  stranger  to  the  name  of 
Wm.  Cunninghame,  Esq.,  of  Lainshaw,  author  of  a  work  on 
prophecy.  He  was,  at  the  time  to  which  this  part  of  our 
memoir  refers,  filling  a  judicial  situation  at  Diuagepore,  whith- 
er Mr.  Carey  and  his  fellow-laborer,  Mr.  Fountain,  had  often 
gone,  by  invitation,  to  preach.  He  had  benefitted  by  their 
ministry,  and  now,  hearing  they  were  in  straitened  circum- 
stances, he  communicated  to  their  necessities,  and  in  a  manner 
so  truly  courteous,  and  simply  pious,  that  one  knows  not 
whether  more  to  admire  in  him  the  perfect  gentleman,  or  the 
humble,  genuine  Christian.  His  letters,  whilst  they  are  very 
brief,  manifest  so  benign  a  spirit,  and  show  so  clearly  the 
high  estimation  in  which  Mr.  Carey  and  his  companion  were 
holden,  and  cast,  at  the  same  time,  so  much  light  upon  their 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  239 

present  circumstances,  that  they  cannot  be  omitted,  without 
prejudice  to  the  narrative,  and  injustice  to  the  parties. 

W.  CUNNINGHAME,  EsQ.,  TO  Mr.  FOUNTAIN. 

'Dear  Sir, 

'  Though  your  man  is  not  yet  come  for  the  paper,  I  sit  down 
to  write  you  a  few  lines,  in  expectation  of  his  arrival. 

'  I  am  sorry,  on  Mr.  Carey's  account,  as  well  as  yours,  that 
you  are  to  be  deprived  of  that  support  which  you  have  hitherto 
derived  from  Malda,  and  that,  in  consequence  thereof,  your 
condition  is  likely  to  be  uncomfortable :  it  will  be  peculiarly 
hard  on  Mr.  Carey,  with  so  large  a  family. 

'Though,  in  offering  you  or  Mr.  Carey  any  small  assistance 
which  it  may  be  in  my  power  to  afford  you,  I  am  sensible  that 
I  may  subject  myself  to  the  imputation  of  intrusion ;  yet,  as  I 
think  the  ideas  generally  received  on  this  subject  false,  and 
that  there  can  be  no  real  indelicacy  in  such  an  offer,  when 
made  in  an  unreserved  way,  I  shall,  without  scruple,  do  that 
which  I  consider  as  a  duty,  the  more  especially,  as  I  have  so 
frequently  benefitted  by  the  ministry  both  of  Mr.  C.  and 
yourself. 

'  If,  then,  the  small  sum  of  two  hundred  rupees  can  be  of 
any  service  to  Mr.  C.  or  you,  till  you  receive  more  substantial 
supplies  from  England,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  pay  that  sum 
immediately  to  any  person  whom  you  may  send  to  receive  it ; 
and  I  shall  consider  myself  as  obliged  to  you  for  making  use 
of  my  offer,  only  regretting  that  it  is  so  unworthy  your  ac-^ 
ceptance. 

'If  this  letter  should  give  you  any  offence,  I  beg  that  you 
will  consider  it  as  quite  unintended  on  my  part,  and  that,  in 
writing  it,  I  only  perform  what  I  consider  to  be  my  duty.  In 
such  a  case  let  this  note  be  burnt,  and  let  it  be  considered  as 
never  having  been  written. 

'  I  am,  dear  sir,  yours  sincerely, 

'  W.  CUNNINGHAME.' 
W.  CUNNINGHAME,  EsQ.,  TO  MeSSRS.  CaREY  AND  FOUNTAIN. 

'  Dinagepore,  August  Slst,  1799. 
'Dear  Sirs, 

'  Had  I  not  been  convinced  that  you  came  to  this  country  for 


240  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

far  nobler  purposes  than  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  it  is  proba- 
ble that  I  should  not  have  made  you  the  offer  which  I  did ;  for 
I  may  truly  say,  that  I  have  been  influenced  as  much  by  the 
consideration  of  the  work  in  Avhich  you  are  engaged  as  by 
other  motives. 

'I  thank  you  for  so  readily  accepting  the  small  assistance  I 
tendered  you ;  and  I  hope  that  on  all  future  occasions,  when 
exposed  to  inconvenience  from  the  same  cause,  you  will  accept 
any  assistance  I  may  be  able  to  afford  you. 

'By  the  bearer  I  have  the  pleasure  to  send  you  twelve  and 
a  half  gold  mohurs,  which  is,  I  believe,  equal  to  the  sum  of 
two  hundred  rupees. 

'  Wishing  you  every  happiness  and  success  in  your  labors, 
'I  remain,  dear  sirs,  yours,  most  sincerely, 

'  W.  CUISNINGHAME.' 

The  newly  arrived  missionaries  not  being  allowed  by  the 
government  to  join  their  brethren  up  the  country,  no  course 
seemed  open  to  the  latter  but  the  breaking  up  of  the  new 
undertaking  at  Kidderpore,  and  removing  to  Serampore.  The 
difliculty  in  the  way  of  this  conclusion  arose  from  the  recent 
and  necessary  outlay  of  property,  which  had  absorbed  all,  and 
more  than  all,  Mr.  Carey's  little  accumulations  at  Mudnabatty 
But  the  success  of  the  attempt,  if  persevered  in,  was  very 
problematical ;  for  if,  with  all  the  advantages  of  abundant  capi- 
tal at  command,  the  owner  was  compelled  to  break  up  that 
establishment ;  and  if  the  superintendent,  with  two  hundred 
rupees  per  month,  could  save  but  little  from  his  stipend,  it  is 
improbable  he  could  realize  any  ultimate  advantage  from  a 
small  factory,  having  to  borrow  part  of  the  capital  required 
for  its  working,  and  being  dependent  exclusively  upon  its  pro- 
ceeds for  his  subsistence.  It  was  wise  in  Mr.  Carey,  therefore, 
to  relinquish  it.  In  doing  so,  he  made  a  present,  but  in  all 
probability  prevented  a  future  sacrifice  more  heavy,  and 
escaped  the  mortification  and  inconvenience  which  secular 
disappointments  infallibly  procure.  Mr.  Carey  was  always 
known  to  be  eminently  diligent,  persevering,  and  undeviatingly 
punctual  in  all  his  worldly  engagements;  and  yet  nothing 
worldly  ever  prospered  in  his  hand.  His  first  business  at 
Hackleton  hardly  saved  him  from  starvation ;  a  second  attempt 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  241 

in  the  same  line,  and  keeping  school  in  addition,  when  at 
Monlton,  served  him  as  ill  a  turn  ;  for  both  would,  sometimes, 
not  furnish  him  with  animal  food  for  a  month  together.  And, 
last  of  all,  the  indigo  business,  though  called  to  it  most  oppor- 
tunel}^,  and  deriving  from  it  for  a  season  the  supply  of  his 
daily  necessities,  yet  at  length  proves  a  failure,  and,  if  he  had 
not  escaped  from  it,  might  at  no  distant  period  have  involved 
him  in  perplexity. 

The  facts  which  concurred  in  calling  Mr.  C.  from  his  rustic 
retreat,  and  which  settled  him  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Indian 
metropolis,  with  the  important  consequences  issuing  from  the 
event,  may  be  gathered  from  the  ensuing  letters.  The  two 
first  are  from  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Fountain  and  Brunsdon, 
brethren  ardently  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  Lord,  tenderly 
beloved,  and  who  gave  promise  of  extensive  usefulness ;  but 
whom  a  mysterious  providence  removed  from  the  vineyard, — 
the  one  after  very  few  years'  labor,  the  other  just  as  he  had 
entered  it. 

From  Mr.  Fountain  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Moheepal,  September  5,  1799. 
'My  very  and  ever  dear  Brother, 

'Though  most  of  your  letters,  like  those  of  other  ministers, 
are  addressed  to  my  colleague,  I  cannot  cease  to  think  of  you, 
to  love  you,  or  to  Avrite  to  you.  If,  indeed,  communication 
with  me  is  not  desirable,  do  but  mention  it,  and  I  have  done. 
The  last  dawk  brought  seven  letters  for  brother  Carey ;  for  me 
not  one !  Think  how  many  I  have  written  to  you,  and  have 
received  but  two  in  return !  I  have  also  received  two  from 
brother  Pearce.  To  brethren  Ryland,  Blundell,  Sutcliff,  Hogg, 
Morris,  Rippon,  &c.,  I  have  written,  but  none  of  them  all  have 
deigned  to  give  me  an  answer.  I  know  the  labors  of  these 
dear  brethren  are  great,  and  they  may  all  have  correspondents 
more  worthy  of  their  notice  than  I.  But  after  all,  I  think  it 
hard  that  not  one  of  them,  in  the  long  space  of  three  years, 
should  devote  a  single  hour  to  convey  intelligence,  instruction, 
or  comfort  to  the  least  of  their  brethren,  laboring  in  a  heathen 
country,  so  far  removed  from  all  he  once  held  dear. 

'  Ten  days  ago  I  closed  a  letter  to  brother  Pearce.     Since 
22 


242  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

then,  nothing  has  transpired  respecting  ourselves  ;  but  every 
thing  that  concerns  the  pubhc  cause  in  which  we  are  engaged 
must,  and  ought  to  be,  far  more  interesting  to  you  than  any 
thing  that  merely  affects  us  as  individuals.  When  we  die, 
that  shall  live.  When  we,  resting  from  our  labors,  shall  sit 
down  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  in  our  Father's  heavenly 
kingdom,  myriads  and  millions  of  gentile  sinners  shall  come 
from  the  east,  as  well  as  from  other  quarters  of  the  world,  to 
share  our  bliss,  augment  our  joy,  and  join  the  everlasting  song 
of  praise  to  Him  through  whose  name  remission  of  sins  was 
preached  to  them.  Wishing,  my  dear  brother,  to  excite  your 
gratitude  to  God,  who  shows  us  at  least  some  tokens  for  good, 
I  cannot  refrain  from  acquainting  you  thereof 

'You  will  remember  we  have  often  mentioned  our  dear 
Cunuinghame,  as  a  hopeful  character.  In  my  last  to  Pearce,  I 
spoke  of  him  as  one  growing  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  the  two  letters  of  his  which  I  have 
now  the  pleasure  to  inclose,  appear  to  us  as  good  and  indubi- 
table proofs  of  it.  He  knows  not  how  to  compliment.  The 
first  was  written  in  consequence  of  hearing  that  Mudnabatty 
factory  was  broken  up,  and  our  support  from  thence  cut  off. 
After  receiving  it,  and  reading  it  with  tears  of  sacred  joy, 
I  sent  for  brother  Carey.     We  wrote  to  him  jointly  as  follows  : 

'  'Moijheepal,  August  29,  1799. 
'  '  Very  dear  Sir, 

'  '  Like  him  who  before  us  was  a  missionary  to  the  heathen, 
we  can  say,  with  sincerity,  '  We  have  coveted  no  man's  silver, 
or  gold,  or  apparel.'  We  came  not  to  seek  wealth,  but  to  win 
souls  to  Christ.  We  bless  God  that  hitherto  he  hath  provided 
for  us  beyond  our  expectations  when  we  left  England.  Our 
salaries,  you  have  undoubtedly  learned  from  the  periodical 
accounts  of  the  Society,  have  to  the  present  been  suffi- 
cient for  us,  with  the  assistance  of  Mudnabatty.  In  this  time 
of  straitness,  we  cordially  thank  you  for  your  kind  offer  of  two 
hundred  rupees,  which  we  shall  be  glad  to  receive  by  the 
bearer  of  this.  We  look  upon  it  as  an  expression  of  your  love, 
not  only  to  us,  but  to  Christ ;  at  the  same  time  assuring  you 
that  all  the  wealth  of  India  would  not  have  given  us  so  much 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  243 

satisfaction  as  to  hear  that  our  ministry  has  been  beneficial  to 
your  soul. 

' '  We  are,  very  affectionately  yours, 

(Signed)  ' '  Wm.  Carey. 

'  '  J.  Fountain.'  ' 

'  His  second  letter,  as  you  will  see,  accompanied  his  pecun- 
iary donation. 

'Next  morning,  just  as  brother  Carey  was  leaving  me,  a  note 
was  brought  in  from  Mr.  Parr,  the  judge,  written  in  the  name 
of  the  gentlemen  there,  requesting  that  a  charity  sermon  might 
be  preached  the  next  time  we  go  to  Dinagepore.  Mercy  upon 
mercy!  Praise  ye  the  Lord!  This  latter  instance  of  favor 
seems  to  have  originated  with  our  very  hopeful  young  friend, 
Webb,  whom  I  mentioned  in  my  letter  to  brother  Pearce.  The 
last  time  he  was  with  me,  he  inquired  pretty  much  respecting 
the  school,  and  how  we  supported  it.  I  told  him,  the  first  year 
we  bore  the  expense  of  it  ourselves ;  but  that,  last  Christmas, 
we  had  a  charity  sermon  at  Malda,  when  our  friends  there 
made  a  collection  for  the  present  year.  He  said,  he  wished 
he  had  known  of  it,  and  desired  that  in  future  he  might  have 
the  pleasure  of  subscribing  too.  I  suppose  his  mentioning 
this  among  the  gentlemen  gave  rise  to  the  judge's  letter.  On 
the  third  Sabbath  of  the  month  the  requested  sermon  will  be 
preached. 

'  Surely,  brother  Fuller,  these  prospects  must  cheer  your 
hearts  in  England,  as  well  as  ours  in  India.  The  Lord,  per- 
haps, may  work  in  a  way  we  have  not  thought  of.  We  have 
been  praying,  and  longing,  and  laboring  for  Mussulman  con- 
versions, but  perhaps  we  may  see  some  of  the  first  among  our 
own  countrymen.  We  continue  to  grow  in  favor  with  all  who 
know  us.  If  you  knew  how  many  Europeans  had  heard  the 
gospel  from  our  lips,  who  never  would  have  heard  it,  had  we 
not  come,  you  would  be  far  from  thinking  the  Society's  money 
thrown  away.  Military  officers,  judges,  collectors,  &c.,  have 
repeatedly  joined  us  in  worship,  both  at  Malda  and  Dinagepore. 
When  our  brethren  arrive,  I  hope  we  shall  preach  oftener  at 
both  places,  and  perhaps  at  others  where  now  we  cannot  go. 
If  the  Lord  should  turn  the  hearts  of  these  great  men  towards 
himself,  or  to  favor  his  cause,  I  have  no  doubt  but  some  stable 


244  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

plan  will,  in  a  few  years,  be  adopted  for  the  dissemination  of 
Christian  knowledge,  without  any  expense  from  England. 
After  this,  the  Spirit  from  on  high  may  be  poured  down,  and 
men  every  where  cast  away  their  idols  to  serve  the  living  God. 

0  my  brother,  tell  it  to  your  churches,  tell  it  to  the  Society, 
tell  it  to  the  whole  Christian  world,  that  their  prayers  are  not 
in  vain.  Lately  they  have  been  praying  with  importunity  for 
Bengal:  Jehovah  hath  heard;  and  answers,  'For  the  oppress- 
ion of  the  poor,  for  the  sighing  of  the  needy,  now  will  I  arise; 

1  will  set  him  in  safety  from  him  that  puffeth  at  him.' 

'I  am,  my  very  dear  brother,  affectionately  yours, 

'J.  Fountain.' 

Mr.  Brunsdon  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

extract  from  a  journal. 

'  1799.  Lord's  day,  Oct.  6th.  This  was  a  strange  Sabbath 
day.  The  noise  and  confusion  were  so  great  that  we  could 
not  attend  to  divine  worship.  About  mid-day,  a  pilot  of  supe- 
rior rank  came  on  board  and  took  charge  of  us,  and  sent  the 
other  on  board  his  vessel.  In  the  afternoon  we  came  to  anchor 
in  the  mouth  of  the  Hoogly  river,  almost  stunned  with  the 
bawling  of  the  pilot,  and  the  boatswain's  whistle. 

'Nothing  particular  occurred  going  up  the  river.  The  cap- 
tain sent,  as  soon  as  he  could,  to  Calcutta  to  a  friend  of  his,  to 
inquire  for  Tliomas.  We  found  he  was  not  there :  we  there- 
fore determined  to  go  directly  to  Serampore.  Accordingly  we 
left  the  ship,  Saturday  evening,  the  12th,  a  little  below  Calcut- 
ta, and  proceeded  up  the  river  in  two  vessels.  We  arrived  at 
Myer's  tavern,  Serampore,  early  on  Lord's  day  morning.  We 
found  the  inn-keeper  a  civil  man.  Here  again  we  found  it 
impossible  to  have  divine  sei-vice.  The  hardened  state  of  the 
inhabitants  of  this  town  is  truly  astonishing.  Openly  to  play 
at  billiards  is  as  common  on  this  day  here,  as  to  go  to  church 
is  in  England. 

'Monday,  14th.  We  waited  on  the  governor.  We  found 
him  very  friendly,  and  disposed  to  do  us  all  the  service  he 
could,  Avhich  will  extend  no  further  than  his  own  territory. 
To-day   our  hearts  were   gladdened   by   the   arrival   of  our 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  245 

brother  Forsyth,  sent  out  by  the  Missionary  Society.  He  ap- 
pears to  be  a  solid  good  man,  disposed  to  give  us  all  the  advice 
and  information  he  can,  and  would  be  happy  to  render  us  any 
service  in  his  power.  His  visit  was  quite  unexpected,  as  we 
had  forgotten  that  any  information  had  been  given  us  that 
there  was  such  a  person  in  India.  He  resides  at  Calcutta 
chiefly,  and  preaches  to  a  number  of  Europeans  in  a  room 
there.  In  the  evening  our  captain  arrived:  he  informed  us 
that  his  ship  was  forbidden  an  entry  at  the  custom-house,  un- 
less he  would  find  us,  and  we  should  either  obtain  permission 
to  live  in  the  country,  or  give  security  for  our  going  back  as 
soon  as  convenient.  We  were  alarmed  at  the  intelligence,  not 
so  much  on  our  own  account  as  on  the  captain's.  If  not  ad- 
mitted to  trade,  his  loss  would  be  very  great,  while  we  were 
entirely  safe  here,  as  much  out  of  their  power  as  in  England, 
with  all  the  support  we  could  desire  from  the  governor.  We 
laid  it  in  prayer  before  our  God,  and  retired  to  rest.  On 
Tuesday,  we  waited  on  the  governor  again.  He  advised  us  U- 
go  to  Calcutta,  and  state  our  case  to  the  governor,  and  he  had 
no  doubt  of  our  succeeding, with  the  interest  of  a  few  friends: 
if  not,  we  should  have  his  protection,  if  we  would  remain  at 
Serampore.  Brother  Ward  and  myself  went  with  the  captain 
to  Calcutta.  We  took  your  address  with  us,  intending  to  show 
that  part  of  it  which  related  to  politics.  We  waited  on  Mr. 
Poignard :  he  expected  Mr.  Brenard  on  the  morrow,  whose 
experience  was  greater  than  his  own,  and  to  whom  we  had  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Short. 

'Wednesday,  16tli.  We  w^ent  on  board  the  ship.  The 
captain  informed  us  Mr.  Frances  had  made  interest  and  got 
the  ship  entered.  He  assured  them  oin'  coming  out  was  no 
secret  in  England,  that  we  had  regularly  passed  the  customs, 
&c.,  and  offered  to  show  correspondence  between  Mr.  Fuller 
and  himself.  The  police-officers  required  our  attendance 
there  to-day;  but  this  we  did  not  think  well  to  comply  with. 
We  sent  word  we  would  remain  at  Serampore,  till  our  friend 
from  the  country  arrived.  We  found  all  this  arose  from  mis- 
representation. It  was  published  in  the  papers  that  we  were 
popish  missionarieSj  and  therefore  it  was  supposed  our  view 
was  to  propagate  French  principles.  The  captain  waited  on 
Brown :  he  was  much  surprised  to  find  whom  we  were  sent 
22* 


246  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

out  by,  and  promised  to  do  every  thing  in  his  power,  at  the 
same  time  advising  us  to  remain  at  Serampore,  from  whence 
we  might  travel  and  preach  the  gospel  all  through  India. 

'  In  the  afternoon,  we  returned  to  our  friends.  They  had 
taken  a  house,  and  moved  into  it;  rent,  thirty-two  rupees  a 
month.     Here  we  wait  the  coming  of  our  dear  brother  Carey.' 

'N.  B.  When  you  send  out  other  missionaries,  do  not  tell 
one  what  you  think  of  the  others :  the  consequences  of  this 
might  have  been  bad ;  but  the  Lord  helped  us,  and  all  is  peace 
and  harmony.' 

Mr.  Brunsdon  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'  Serampore,  Dec.  5,  1799. 
'Very  dear  Sir, 

'  Our  blessed  Lord  says,  '  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribula- 
tion, but  in  me  ye  shall  have  peace ;'  and  the  latter  is  infinitely 
more  than  a  counterbalance  for  the  former.  This  is  true  as  it 
respects  all  God's  children,  but  not  alike  in  all.  If  you  have 
tribulation,  we  are  ready  to  think  we  have  it  seven-fold :  yet 
we  can  join  with  the  Apostle  in  saying,  'We  are  troubled  on 
every  side,  yet  not  distressed ;  perplexed,  but  not  in  des- 
pair,' &c. 

'  Our  heavenly  Father  hath  been  pleased  to  afflict  us,  and  to 
weaken  us,  and  reduce  us,  that  we  may  not  glory  in  the  flesh, 
but  in  himself  He  has  been  pleased  to  call  home  to  himself 
our  very  dear  brother  Grant:  he  died  the  31st  of  October,  after 
a  few  days'  illness.  I  have  written  to  the  Doctor  most  of  the 
particulars  of  this  truly  mournful  event,  and  shall  not  repeat 
them  here.  We  buried  him  on  the  following  day,  in  the 
Danish  burying-ground  in  this  place. 

'  You  will  not  wonder  to  see  Serampore  at  the  head  of  our 
letters,  after  what  we  wrote  to  you  in  our  last.  When  unjust 
suspicions  are  raised  in  the  jealous  mind,  they  are  not  easily 
removed.  We  find  every  attempt  to  go  up  the  country  would 
only  irritate  government,  and  expose  us  to  its  censure ;  and 
more,  we  have  it  from  good  authority  that  the  governor-gen- 
eral in  council  said  that  he  would  send  either  of  us  on  board 
ship,  that  should  be  found  in  the  Company's  territory. 

'  We  received  a  letter  from  brother  Carey,  Nov.  23d,  saying 
that  they  had  heard  we  had  arrived,  and  were  afraid  they 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  247 

should  miss  us  on  the  river,  or  brother  F.  would  have  come 
down,  but  that  now  he  would  set  off  immediately ;  that  Mr. 
U.  had  given  up  the  works  at  Mudnabatty,  and  was  coming  to 
Calcutta ;  and  that  they  had  taken  land  at  Kidderpore  for  the 
seat  of  the  mission,  and  were  beginning  to  build.  Brother  C. 
wrote  at  the  same  time  to  Dr.  Roxburg ;  but  all  in  vain.  The 
fact  is,  the  government  will  not  suffer  us  to  set  up  a  press  and 
colonize  in  their  dominions.  This,  governor  Bie  plainly  told 
brother  M.  and  me  a  few  days  since  ;  at  the  same  time,  he  told 
us  it  would  meet  with  every  encouragement  and  support  here ; 
and  that,  if  we  opened  a  subscription  toward  printing  the 
Bible,  we  should  get  a  very  considerable  sum.  He  asked  us 
if  we  would  print  any  thing  else  besides  the  Bible. 

'  Brother  Fountain  arrived  on  Saturday,  the  9th  of  Novem- 
ber, and  was  married  at  Calcutta  the  Tuesday  following,  by 
Mr.  Buchanan,  assistant  chaplain.  Brethren  Ward  and  Foun- 
tain set  off  for  Mudnabatty  on  the  14th,  to  consult  with  brother 
Carey,  and,  if  possible,  to  bring  him  to  Serampore.  We  have 
received  a  letter  from  brother  Carey  since  these  brethren  lefl 
us,  a  part  of  which  I  copy.' 

' '  I  am  really  incapable  of  giving  advice  in  the  very  impor- 
tant things  you  mention,  but  shall  just  state  a  few  particulars. 

"  I.  I  shall  be  free  from  Mudnabatty  on  the  31st  of  Decem- 
ber ;  so  that  then  no  connexion  with  Mr.  Udney  can  be  any 
hindrance  to  my  joining  you. 

"2.  With  you  at  Serampore,  we  maybe  unmolested  by 
government,  if  not  protected:  here  we  could  only  live  by 
connivance. 

"3.  No  obstruction  will  lie  in  the  way  of  setting  up  the 
press  at  Serampore :  here  there  may. 

' '  4.  In  that  part  of  the  country  there  are  at  least  ten  inhab- 
itants to  one  here. 

' '  5.  Other  missionaries  may  join  us  there.  All  this  is  for 
settling  at  Serampore.     On  the  other  hand : 

"  1.  T  have  engaged  in  a  concern  which  is  designed  for  the 
use  of  the  mission,  which  involved  me  in  debt  three  thousand 
rupees,  about  two  thousand  of  which  will  be  paid  off  in  a  few 
days ;  and  then  I  am  one  thousand  rupees  in  debt,  and  desert- 
ing the  place. 


248  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

' '  2.  When  I  have  paid  that,  I  have  not  a  rupee  to  subsist  on, 
except  by  anticipating  a  year's  allowance. 

"3.  An  allowance  like  mine  of  £100  from  the  Society, 
amounts  to  only  sixty-six  rupees  per  month.  At  Serampore, 
house-rent  alone  will  come  to  thirty  or  forty.  If  so,  how  can 
we  subsist  on  the  rest? 

'  '4.  Here  our  church  is  formed,  and  God  has  given  us  two 
Europeans  as  our  hire.  A  considerable  number  of  the  natives 
also  have  some  light,  though  the  conversion  of  any  is  un- 
certain. 

"5.  I  am  now  at  a  great  expense  erecting  houses  and  con- 
veniences, planting  a  garden,  &c. ;  which,  with  the  three 
thousand  rupees,  will  be  entirely  lost. 

' '  There  are  many  other  considerations  which  would  weigh 
much  with  me,  were  not  the  case  so  urgent  as  it  is.  Should 
you,  however,  think  it  best  for  us  to  remove  to  you,  I  will 
doit." 

'  Thus  far  brother  Carey.  To  this  I  can  add  nothing  now, 
till  we  hear  from  them. 

'We  have  had  several  letters  from  brother  Thomas  since 
we  have  been  here,  and  expect  he  will  be  down  in  a  few 
weeks.  He  is  at  Soorool,  in  the  district  of  Beerbhoom :  I  be- 
lieve he  superintends  a  sugar  manufactory.  He  expresses  a 
great  deal  of  love  to  us,  and  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  If  he  had 
but  prudence  equal  to  his  zeal  and  ability,  what  a  useful  mis- 
sionary he  would  be !  I  am  grieved  at  the  accounts  I  have 
heard :  but  as  I  know  but  little,  I  will  say  less. 

'  I  wish  we  may  be  able  to  subsist  somehow,  without  en- 
gaging in  the  affairs  of  this  world.  There  will  be  no  good 
done  if  our  whole  hearts,  and  souls,  and  time,  and  talents,  are 
not  employed  in  the  mission.  As  the  work  is  not  ours,  but 
God's,  we  hope  he  will  direct  us  in  all  our  ways  to  his  glory. 

' Dec.  13.  Yesterday  we  received  a  letter  fiom  Mudnabatty, 
in  which  brother  Carey  says  he  is  preparing  his  stuff  for 
removing,  but  not  as  one  going  into  captivity.  We  expect 
them  all  at  Serampore  in  about  a  month.  This  was  none  of 
our  contrivance  ;  we  did  not  think  of  it  when  we  left  England : 
the  Lord  orders  all  things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will. 
But  though  things  are  as  it  were  turned  upside  down,  we  are 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  249 

not  discouraged.  He  surely  would  not  have  induced  Governor 
Bie  to  have  shown  us  so  much  kindness,  if  he  did  not  design 
to  bless  this  country  with  his  truth.  Why  were  we  not  per- 
mitted to  go  up  the  country  and  set  up  the  press,  and  then 
have  been  in  the  power  of  the  governor  of  Bengal,  who  would 
inevitably  have  sent  us  home  ?  Governor  Bie  constantly  at- 
tends divine  worship,  and  his  attention  to  the  truth  is  serious : 
we  cannot  but  hope  the  Lord  will  bless  it  to  his  soul.  He  is  a 
man  of  unblemished  character,  open  and  familiar  in  conversa- 
tion, and  of  sound  judgment  and  penetration.  This  flourishing 
settlement  has  entirely  risen  under  his  care.  He  appears  old, 
I  suppose  more  than  sixty,  having  been  in  India  more  than 
forty  years.  He  has  long  wanted  a  church  here,  and  has  got- 
ten a  large  subscription  towards  building  it  Who  can  tell 
what  God  will  do  here  .^ 

'  We  sent  accounts  of  the  voyage,  &c.,  to  England,  about 
six  weeks  ago,  which  we  hope  you  will  receive  in  due  time. 
A  letter  from  brother  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller,  and  one  from  brother 
Fountain  to  you,  were  sent  by  the  Alligator  packet,  a  fortnight 
ago.  We  hope  some  of  the  Society  will  correspond  with  our 
dear  captain.  I  know  not  how  to  speak  with  sufficient  respect 
and  esteem  of  him.  He  has  lent  us  one  thousand  rupees  for 
the  use  of  the  mission,  without  interest.  He  said  he  had 
about  £100  he  did  not  immediately  want,  and  he  would  leave 
it,  for  fear  we  should  be  short  before  we  could  have  remit- 
tances from  England ;  and  some  time,  when  convenient,  the 
Society  or  we  are  to  refund  him.  He  wishes  to  become  a 
subscriber,  if  he  knew  how  to  send  his  subscription.  He  is 
not  certain  but  he  may  be  in  London  again  next  summer,  or 
rather  winter, and  make  another  voyage  to  India:  if  so,  he  will 
send  you  timely  notice.  His  address  is  Capt.  Benjamin 
Wickes,  sen.,  Philadelphia. 

'I  am,  dear  sir, 

'  Your  unworthy  servant,  for  Christ's  sake, 

'D,  Brdnsdon.' 


250  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 


SECTION  II. 


letter  to  mr.  fuller letters  to  his   sisters letter 

to  dr.  rtland mr.  carey  and   brethren  to  the  soci- 
ety  letter  from  mr.  carey  and  mr.  fuller. 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Moypal,  Dec.  21,  1799. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'I  am  now  at  this  place,  on  my  way  to  Dinagepore,  whither 
I  am  going,  in  company  with  brethren  Ward  and  Powel,  to 
pay  my  last  visit  before  I  leave  this  part  of  the  country. 

'  The  occasion  of  our  going  from  hence  you  have  already 
heard,  viz.,  government  having  refused  to  permit  our  brethren 
to  come  up  to  us  to  this  part  of  the  country.  The  death  of 
our  dear  brother  Grant  you  have  also  been  informed  of,  I  sup- 
pose, by  others  of  our  brethren.  It  is  my  intention  to  write 
more  largely  before  the  ships  go ;  but  lest  I  should  not  have 
time,  or  they  should  sail  sooner  than  ordinary,  I  write  this  just 
to  inform  you  of  our  situation. 

'Brother  Ward  and  myself,  yesternight,  made  a  calculation 
of  our  probable  expenses  for  one  year. 

'I  think  that  we  probably  may  bring  them  within  six  or  six 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  per  annum,  but  certainly  cannot  live 
upon  less,  even  if  we  can  live  for  less  than  the  £810.  At 
Serampore,  the  place  to  which  we  are  going,  every  thing  is 
dearer  than  here  by  nearly  one  half;  and  we  must  pay  more 
attention  to  the  article  of  clothing  than  we  should  do  here. 
Powel,  who  is  very  economical,  thinks  that  we  cannot  do  for 
less  than  the  £810,  which  is  only  405  rupees  a  year,  or  32-12 
rupees  each  per  month ;  accounting  two  children  equal  to  one 
grown  person,  and  laying  the  whole  at  sixteen  persons :  my 
two  eldest  sons  are  counted  as  full  grown.  If  we  should  have 
rent  to  pay,  that  alone  would  amount  to  one  hundred  and 
eighty  rupees  more  a  month,  at  the  least  calculation,  or  two 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  251 

thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty,  viz.,  £270  a  year.  We  have, 
therefore,  agi*eed  to  purchase  land  of  the  Danish  government, 
and  erect  eight  bungalows  or  straw  houses :  this  will  cost  near 
three  thousand  rupees,  a  sum  very  little  more  than  one  year's 
moderate  rent  in  houses.  Besides  this,  there  is  the  loss  on 
Kidderpore,  amounting  to  about  £500,  of  which  I  shall  send 
particulars. 

'  We  are  affrighted  at  all  this  expense,  and  fear  that  you  will 
be  so  too ;  yet  it  cannot  be  lessened.  We  have  thought  that 
it  would  be  the  best  thing  you  can  do,  to  send  the  whole  of 
your  funds,  which  you  say  amounts  to  £3000,  to  this  country, 
and  lend  it  to  government  on  interest  at  twelve  per  cent.  This 
would  be  a  regular  fund  of  £360  a  year,  without  any  of  the 
difficulties  and  uncertainties  attending  drawing  on  persons  in 
England.  We  propose  to  teach  a  school,  which,  together 
with  the  profits  of  our  press,  may  amount  to  two  hundred 
rupees  a  month,  or  more :  but  this  is  uncertain.  1  believe  we 
all  *  have  a  mind  to  work ;'  and  every  one  will  do  his  utmost 
to  take  all  the  burden  he  can  from  the  Society :  but  you  must 
be  apprised  of  our  true  situation. 

'Perhaps  you  may  start  at  the  proposal  of  investing  your 
money  in  the  Company's  hands,  lest  they  should  become 
bankrupts,  or  be  dissolved  by  any  means :  to  this  1  can  only 
say,  that  in  that  case  the  government  of  England  would,  in  all 
probability,  become  responsible  for  their  debts.  You  might 
also  fear  that  it  would  be  taking  the  reins  too  much  out  of  the 
Society's  hands,  and  that  however  well  you  may  be  satisfied  at 
present  with  the  conduct  of  the  missionaries,  some  unhappy 
circumstance  may  arise  Avhich  may  cause  you  to  repent  of  put- 
ting the  purse  in  the  hands  of  the  missionaries.  This,  how- 
ever, would  not  be  the  case.  The  treasurer  in  India  is  not  the 
missionaries'  but  the  Society's  treasurer,  and,  consequently, 
must  be  responsible  to  them. 

'  Should  you  approve  of  this  step,  the  money  must  be  sent 
out  to  this  country  in  hard  cash,  viz.,  dollars,  on  which  also 
we  should  have  a  gain.  This  would  be  a  great  saving  to  the 
Society,  furnish  a  permanent  fund,  and  render  the  Indian  mis- 
sion much  lighter  to  you,  and  much  more  pleasant  to  us.  We 
have  got  now,  press,  tj^pes,  and  English  paper,  all  paid  for; 
and  a  printer.     The  types  were  got  for  fifteen  hundred  rupees 


252  MEMOIR   OF    DR.  CAREY. 

less  than  the  estimate,  so  that  what  I  have  drawn  for  that  purpose 
has  paid  for  them.     The  whole  Bible  is  translated,  except  2 
Kings  and  2  Chronicles,  which  brother  Fountain  is  doing.     I 
am  preparing  the  copy  for  the  press ;  and  unless  forbidden  by 
the  Society,  we  mean  to  print  one  thousand  copies  of  the 
whole,  instead  of  two  thousand  of  the  New  Testament.     We 
shall  want  a  little  more  paper,  which  we  may  get  here  :  so 
that  we  shall  not  want  very  much  more  money  to  print  the 
whole,  say  four  thousand  rupees,  or  £500,  more  than  we  have. 
If  so,  the  whole  expense  will  only  be 
£300  drawn 
300  paper 
500  more 
£1100 


'  It  is  impossible  to  be  exact,  but  I  think  we  shall  not  want 
more ;  and  as  we  expect  to  sell  some  copies,  that  will  be 
lessened. 

'  My  paper  is  gone.  Farewell:  may  the  Lord  bless  you. 
My  love  to  all  ministers  and  friends.  We  are  well ;  set  off, 
pack  and  package,  for  Serampore,  on  Wednesday  next.  Intend 
to  visit  these  parts  at  least  once  a  year.  Hurry  Charon  and 
Sookman  express  a  real  attachment  to  the  gospel.  The  pro- 
posal about  investing  your  money  in  the  goveriunent  funds  in 
this  country  is  brother  Ward's :  I  think  it  a  very  good  one.  It 
will  also  give  us  respectability  in  their  eyes. 

'I  am,  very  affectionately  yours,  W.  Carey.' 

'  Powel  and  brother  Ward  join  in  love.' 

'  I  have  no  copy  of  this.' 

'  Mudnabattij,  JVov.  30,  1799. 
'  My  dear  Sisters, 

'  I  have  long,  very  long,  been  designing  to  write  to  you,  and 
should  have  done  so  before  now,  had  not  the  very  unsettled 
state  of  the  mission  prevented  it ;  and  even  now  I  am  not 
perfectly  certain  how  or  where  we  shall  be. 

'  Owing  to  repeated  loss  by  floods,  the  works  at  Mudnabatty 
are  now  given  up :  in  consequence  of  which  I  had  prepared  to 
go  to  another  place  which  I  had  bought  for  myself;  I  however 
gave  it  up  to  the  mission,  on  hearing  that  more  missionaries 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  253 

were  expected  out;  and  had  begun  to  erect  buildings,  &c.,  at 
a  jjretty  large  expense,  and  also  to  remove  from  Mudnabatty 
to  that  place.  On  the  13th  Oct.  they  arrived,  all  safe  and  well ; 
and  we  expected  them  up  here  by  the  5th  Nov. ;  but  how  un- 
certain are  all  our  prospects  !  Government  refused  to  let  the 
captain  have  a  cargo,  unless  he  produced  them  all  at  the  po- 
lice-office, to  enter  into  agreement  to  return  to  Europe  as  soon 
as  convenient,  or  get  the  Company's  leave  to  reside  in  the 
country.  No  sooner  did  we  hear  this  news,  than  brother  Foun- 
tain set  out  for  Calcutta.  In  a  few  days,  however,  and  before 
he  could  arrive,  it  had  pleased  the  Lord  to  remove  brother 
Grant,  one  of  the  missionaries,  by  death,  after  ahout  ten  days' 
illness.  This  was  a  heavy  stroke  in  the  midst  of  all  our  other 
perplexities ;  but  I  was  enabled  to  see  that  all  is  done  in 
infinite  wisdom.     He  has  left  a  widow  and  two  children. 

'  On  their  first  arrival  they  went  to  Seramporc,  a  Danish 
settlement,  v/here  the  English  government  cannot  touch  them  ; 
and  the  governor  has  shown  them  the  utmost  attention  and 
kindness ;  he  also  has  promised  to  protect  us,  and  to  give  us 
passports  at  any  time  to  any  part  of  the  country,  and  to  indent 
us  for  Danish  subjects  ;  and  even  says  he  will  build  a  church 
at  the  place,  if  we  will  settle  there.  On  this,  I  have  resolved 
to  give  up  our  other  plan,  and  to  remove  with  my  family  to 
that  place  as  soon  as  possible ;  this  appearing  to  me  to  be  the 
spot  that  Providence  is  pointing  out  for  our  residence. 

'  Dec,  12th.  This  day  Mr.  Fountain,  with  a  quantity  of  my 
furniture  and  the  efifects  of  the  Society,  is  gone  to  Serampore. 
Brother  Ward  is  with  me,  where  he  will  stay  till  I  go  down, 
which  I  expect  will  be  at  the  end  of  the  month.  May  the 
blessing  of  our  God  attend  us,  and  his  grace  make  our  labors 
useful  ! 

'  The  past  year  has  been  a  year  of  labor,  disappointment, 
and  perplexity.  My  mind  has  been  almost  absorbed  in  the 
temporal  concerns  of  the  mission ;  and  but  little  fruit  has 
appeared  to  encourage  our  labors  in  the  gospel.  Among  the 
Europeans,  however,  God  has  given  us  some  success.  Ithink 
I  can  speak  with  confidence  of  a  young  gentleman  of  the  first 
abilities,  who  was  deistically  inclined  before  we  came  to  these 
parts,  and  indeed  till  last  year.  He  gives  good  evidence  of  a 
work  of  grace  on  his  heart;  and,  indeed,  several  of  the  gentle- 
23 


254  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

men  at  Dinagepore  are  much  altered  for  the  better  in  their 
conduct.  Among  the  natives  things  rather  go  backwards  than 
forwards  ;  yet  I  indulge  a  hope  that  we  have  not  labored  alto- 
gether in  vain ;  and  we  are  quitting  this  part  of  the  country 
with  the  best  wishes  of  the  inhabitants. 

<  Serampore,  Jan.  14th,  1800.  I,  with  my  family,  have  left 
Mudnabatty,  in  consequence  of  government  refusing  to  permit 
our  brethren  to  go  up  thither.  Kidderpore  is  also  given  up  on 
the  same  account,  at  a  very  heavy  loss.  We  arrived  at  this 
place  on  Friday  last,  and  are  settling  under  the  Danish  govern- 
ment. The  governor  protects  us,  and  is  very  kind  to  us.  As 
we  are  going  to  Calcutta  to-morrow  morning,  I  sit  up  veiy 
late  to  finish  this,  that  I  may  send  it  by  this  despatch. 

'  Such  a  scene  of  wandering  up  and  down  and  perplexity  as 
Ave  have  had,  may,  I  trust,  sufficiently  apologize  for  my  not 
filling  my  paper,  and  for  my  writing  to  so  few  friends.  But 
we  have  been  so  unsettled  that  I  could  not  think  of  writing, 
when  every  week,  and  almost  every  day,  seemed  likely  to  pro- 
duce some  changes  or  other.  We  are  going  to  purchase  a 
house  if  we  can,  rent  being  very  high  here.  Brother  Grant's 
death  was  a  most  distressing  event ;  otherwise  we  are  all  well. 
We  have  almost  all  things  common.  All  are  desirous  to  labor 
in  the  mission.  This  part  of  the  country  is  much  more  popu- 
lous than  Mudnabatty;  and  as  the  providence  of  God  has 
evidently  brought  us  hither,  I  trust  he  will  bless  our  labors. 
Be  assured  of  my  love. 

'Your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Carey.' 

^Serampore,  Oct  ]1,  1800. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'It  is  now  near  twelve  months  since  I  received  a  letter  from 
you,  and  it  is  a  long  time  since  I  wrote  also,  which  was  owing 
to  the  very  unsettled  state  in  which  we  were  all  the  season  for 
writing.  I  wrote  several  letters  last  year  to  different  persons, 
but  almost  every  letter  contradicted  the  preceding,  owing  to 
the  rapid  succession  of  unexpected  changes  in  our  circum- 
stances ;  which,  though  very  painful  at  that  time,  were  certainly 
accomplished  by  the  God  who  has  a  tender  concern  for  the 
mission,  and  has  continually  watched  over  it  till  now  ;  and, 
indeed,  in  circumstances  in  which  it  was  impossible  for  us  to 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  255 

know  what  would  be  the  consequence  of  our  doing  this  or 
that,  He  has  directed  our  way  in  a  very  singular  manner.  The 
consequence  is,  that  we  are  now  at  Serampore,  a  settlement 
belonging  to  Denmark,  about  fourteen  miles  from  Calcutta, 
where  we  have  purchased  a  house  for  the  mission,  and  now 
live  together  a  happy  family,  in  the  most  populous  part  of  the 
country. 

'  Had  we  staid  at  Mudnabatty,  or  its  vicinity,  it  is  a  great 
wonder  whether  we  could  have  set  up  our  press:  government 
would  have  suspected  us,  though  without  any  reason  to  do  so : 
and  would,  in  all  probability,  have  prevented  us  from  printing  ; 
the  difficulty  of  procuring  proper  materials  would  also  have 
been  almost  insuperable.  As  it  is,  though  the  first  removal 
was  attended  with  pecuniary  loss,  yet  the  advantage  upon  the 
whole  has  far  balanced  it.  We  have  printed  several  small 
pieces,  which  have  been  dispersed :  we  have  circulated  several 
copies  of  Matthew's  Gospel,  I  suppose  near  three  hundred. 
We  have  printed  the  New  Testament,  as  far  as  the  Actsof 
the  Apostles,  and  it  will  be  wholly  printed  before  this  reaches 
you,  unless  some  unforeseen  obstruction  lie  in  the  way. 

'I  have,  however,  the  melancholy  news  of  brother  Foun- 
tain's death  to  write.  He  died  at  Dinagepore,  at  the  house  of 
our  dear  friend  Fernandez,  on  the  20th  of  August  last.  His 
death  was  brought  on  by  a  dysentery,  which  he  had  labored 
under  for  about  three  months.  Sister  Fountain  was  with  him. 
He  died  with  that  trust  in  Christ,  and  bore  his  affliction  with 
that  calmness,  that  left  a  very  strong  impression  on  the  minds 
of  those  who  saw  him. 

'  I  am,  very  affectionately,  your  brother, 

'W.  Caret.' 

Mr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'  Serampore,  Jan.  17,  1800. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'  Some  time  ago  I  began  a  letter  to  you,  in  which  I  intended 
to  describe  some  of  the  manufactures  of  the  Hindus ;  but  a 
variety  of  very  perplexing  circumstances  have  turned  up, 
which  have  prevented  me  from  making  such  minute  inquiries 


256  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

as  are  necessary  to  give  j^ou  .a  just  idea  of  them.  I  must 
therefore  leave  that  subject  till  1  have  a  little  more  leisure ; 
and,  before  the  ships  sail,  shall  give  you  a  brief  account  of  our 
])resent  situation,  and  the  very  reinarkable  leadings  of  Divine 
Providence  with  respect  to  us. 

'  The  last  ^-ear  was  very  calamitous,  the  early  floods  destroy- 
ing all  the  crop  of  indigo  at  Mudnabatty;  which  determined 
Mr.  U.  to  give  up  the  place  at  the  end  of  the  year.  I  had 
agreed  with  him,  in  May,  to  purchase  a  part  of  that  concern, 
at  about  six  coss*  distance,  with  an  encumbrance  of  3000  ru- 
pees on  it ;  and,  when  I  received  accounts  of  the  expected 
coming  of  the  missionaries,  I  agreed  to  give  it  up  to  the  mis- 
sion, as  a  place  for  our  settlement,  and  had  begun  to  erect 
houses  for  their  accommodation.  On  the  13th  of  October  they 
arrived,  and  soon  got  up  to  this  place  (Serampore),  on  their 
journey  to  Mudnabatt\%  Government,  however,  refused  to 
permit  the  captain  to  trade,  unless  he  would  produce  the 
passengers  at  the  police-office,  to  enter  into  agreement  to 
return  to  Europe,  or  get  the  Company's  leave  to  reside  in  the 
country.  Their  arrival  had  been  published  in  the  Calcutta 
Gazette,  and,  either  by  a  mistake  of  the  printer,  or  by  design, 
they  had  been  denominated  papist  missionaries.  I  wrote  to 
some  gentlemen  of  my  acquaintance  to  interest  themselves  in 
the  business,  which  they  very  kindly  did,  but  in  vain.  The 
report  of  papist  missionaries  made  government  fear  that  they 
were  Fixncli  missionaries,  as  I  heard  this  week.  A  standing 
rule  of  government  was  therefore  enforced  in  this  instance,  to 
our  great  distress  at  that  time,  and  also  to  the  great  temporal 
loss  of  either  me,  or  the  Society,  in  giving  up  the  first  designed 
settlement;  though,  perhaps,  it  may  eventually  turn  out  for 
the  furtherance  of  the  gospel. 

'  About  seventeen  days  after  the  arrival  of  our  brethren,  viz., 
Oct.  31,  it  pleased  our  wise  Lord  to  remove  our  dear  brother 
Grant  from  us,  by  death,  after  an  illness  of  ten  days.  This 
was  a  very  afflicting  providence  to  us  ;  but  no  doubt  it  was 
done  in  infinite  wisdom.  Sister  Grant  and  her  two  children 
are  well :  brother  Marshman  also,  from  whom  I  have  great 
expectations.     He  is  very  diligent  and  very  prudent.     Brother 

*A  coss  is  two  miles. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  257 

Brunsdon  I  have  not  yet  seen.  He  and  his  wife  went  up  to 
Beerbhoom,  to  see  brother  Thomas,  on  account  of  the  ill 
health  of  Mrs.  B.  I  have  heard  an  excellent  account  of  him. 
Brother  Ward  will,  I  trust,  be  a  very  great  acquisition  to  us : 
he  possesses  an  active  mind.  I  believe  all  our  brethren  have 
a  great  share  of  prudence,  and  1  am  sure  their  hearts  are 
much  in  the  work. 

'  Serampore,  the  i)lace  at  which  we  are,  is  a  handsome  town, 
belonging  to  the  Danes.  It  stands  on  the  banks  of  the 
Hoogly  river,  about  seven  coss  from  Calcutta,  northward. 
This  is  the  city  of  refuge  for  all  who  are  in  debt,  and  afraid  of 
their  creditors,  on  which  account  a  degree  of  disgrace  is 
attached  to  an  inhabitant  thereof.  And,  indeed,  the  natives 
appear  to  me  to  be  some  of  the  vilest  of  the  vile.  There  are 
also  many  native  Portuguese,  who  are  full  as  bad.  Europeans 
are  so  transitory  in  their  abode  here,  that  little  can  be  said 
about  them.  The  most  respectable  are  the  Danes  :  the  gover- 
nor, Colonel  Bie,  has  been  peculiarly  attentive  to  us. 

'We  have  a  prospect  of  a  tolerably  good  congregation  of 
Europeans.  I  counted  about  thirty  persons  last  Lord's  day, 
among  whom  was  the  officer  I  once  mentioned  to  brother 
Sutcliff  as  a  second  Colonel  Gardiner.  He  is  stationed  at 
Barrackpore,  which  is  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  just 
facing  this  town.  He  has  constantly  attended,  and  generally 
brings  over  some  other  officers  with  him,  I  have  had  several 
conferences  with  the  natives,  the  particulars  of  which  brother 
Ward  is  writing  to  brother  Fuller.  As  every  thing,  being  new, 
strikes  him  more  forcibly,  I  think  he  will  be  more  particular 
than  I  should  have  been.  I  therefore  sliall  not  say  any  thing 
more  respecting  them. 

'  Indeed,  I  have  such  a  press  of  labor,  till  we  are  quite  set- 
tled, that  I  cannot  add  much  more.  I  still  hope  well  of  Hurry 
Charon  and  Sooknian ;  though  they  are  now  as  sheep  without 

a  shepherd.     God  has  also  this  year  converted  Mr. ,*  a 

young  man  of  Scotch  extraction,  possessed  of  such  depth  of 
thought  and  mature  judgment,  that  when  he  speaks  no  one 
answers  again.     Give  my  love  to  all  your  friends,  especially  to 

*  Major  Prowle. 

23* 


258  Memoir  of  dr.  caret. 

the  dear  students  and  ministers  in  your  connexion.     1  rejoice 
to  hear  of  them.     My  Christian  love  to  Mrs.  Ryland. 

'  I  am,  very  affectionately  yours,  W.  Caret.' 

The  foregoing  M^as  copied  by  Dr.  Ryland  to  his  friend  Mr. 
Sutcliff,  and  the  following,  it  is  presumed,  was  a  postscript  to 
the  same  letter,  as  it  also  is  in  Dr.  Ryland's  hand  writing, 
and  without  a  separate  date  : 

'  Carey  says,  I  shudder  at  the  heavy  expenses  to  which  we 
shall  necessarily  subject  our  brethren  in  England,  and  can  only 
say  that  they  are  unavoidable.  Though  I  did  to  the  best  of 
my  knowledge,  and  indeed  acted  originally  for  myself,  in  the 
purchase  of  Kidderpore  ;  yet,  should  the  Society  think  me  to 
blame,  I  am  willing  to  sink  my  own  money  which  I  have  laid 
out,  and  which  was  all  I  had  in  the  world ;  but  this  is  gone, 
and  the  place  w  ill  require  near  three  thousand  rupees  more  to 
clear  it.  Though  it  would  have  suited  me  on  account  of  its 
nearness  to  Mudnabatty,  yet  it  w^ould  never  be  saleable  to  any 
body  else,  and  the  vats  for  manufacturing  are  not  erected. 
There  is  only  the  place,  and  an  unsaleable  crop  on  the  ground. 
I  believe  it  would  have  answered  our  purpose,  could  we  have 
all  settled  there  ;  but  Providence  forbade  it. 

'  The  very  heavy  rent  we  should  have  to  pay  here  made  it 
desirable  to  purchase  a  house,  which  we  have  done :  but  this 
is  an  additional  expense  of  six  thousand  rupees.  The  pur- 
chase will  require  so  much  of  our  money  as  to  reduce  us  to 
very  grertt  distress,  unless  the  Society  send  us  out  a  sum  im- 
mediately. We  need  three  thousand  rupees  for  Kidderpore 
debt ;  six  thousand  for  our  house  at  Serampore ;  four  thousand 
for  printing  the  Bible  ;  which  makes  thirteen  thousand  rupees, 
or  £1625  sterling,  besides  our  support,  which  I  think  cannot 
come  under  £750  a  year.  We  intend  to  teach  a  school,  and 
employ  our  press,  which  we  hope  may  bring  us  in  £250  per 
annum.  We  have  thought,  and  in  this  we  are  joined  by  those 
in  the  country  who  wish  well  to  our  undertaking,  that  it  will  be 
well  if  the  Society  can  agree  to  send  all  their  money  that 
comes  to  this  country  in  dollars,  and  put  it  in  the  Company's 
funds,  where  it  will  produce  twelve  per  cent,  interest.  If  you 
had  £5000  to  send  into  the  country,  it  would  clear  off  our 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  259 

incumbrances.  If  you  send  £5000,  therefore,  we  should  have, 
after  clearing  these  expenses,  a  remainder  of  £3,325,  which,  if, 
by  the  sale  of  the  Bible,  or  any  other  means,  we  could  make 
up  £4000,  would  produce  us  £480  per  annum.  Sending  dol- 
lars also  would  be  attended  with  a  good  profit.  For  the  differ- 
ence between  sending  £5000  in  dollars,  at  four  shillings  and 
sixpence  each,  and  drawing  for  that  amount,  will  be  £926,  at 
only  two  rupees  for  a  dollar:  but,  as  we  sell  one  hundred 
dollars  for  two  hundred  and  eight  rupees,  the  gain  may  be 
fairly  estimated  at  £1000.  So  that  £5000,  sent  out  in  dollars, 
would  pay  off  every  incumbrance,  print  the  Bible,  purchase  a 
good  house  and  garden  for  the  mission,  in  a  situation  where 
we  shall  be  always  safe,  and  to  which  more  missionaries  may 
be  sent,  without  fear ;  and  also  raise  a  fund  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  mission,  of  nearly  or  quite  £500  per  annum.  This 
would  make  it  comfortable  both  to  us  and  to  you.  For  the 
mission  would  then  be  established  without  any  more  labor  of 
begging ;  and  we  should  have  a  fund  to  resort  to,  without  the 
very  precarious  expedient  of  trading,  viz.,  having  goods  from 
England,  or  of  drawing  on  England,  and  without  any  danger 
of  loss.  Our  success  may  be  long  delayed,  though  all  our 
brethren  are  very  hearty  in  their  work  ;  and  it  is  impossible  to 
say  that  the  public  mind  will  not  be  tired  out,  if  hope  be  de- 
layed much  longer.  Those  also  who  have  hitherto  been  pillars 
to  this  work,  may  soon  be  cut  off  by  death,  and  the  work  might 
then  fall  to  the  ground;  but  in  case  of  our  having  such  funds 
in  this  country,  the  mission  would  be  established.  I  have 
written  thus  to  you  and  to  several  others,  lest  any  of  the  letters 
should  miscarry,  and  because  we  all  think  this  plan  so  impor- 
tant. Money  also  is  so  scarce  here,  that  hardly  any  one  will 
advance  it  for  the  best  bills  on  Europe. 

'  I  need  not  say  any  more.  Do  not  print  the  names  of  Eu- 
ropeans. I  was  sorry  to  see  that  you  printed  that  Dr.  Roxburg 
had  named  the  saul  tree  by  my  name.  As  he  is  in  the  habit 
of  publishing  his  drawings  of  plants,  it  would  have  looked 
better  if  it  had  been  mentioned  first  by  him.  I  think  Marsh- 
man  to  be  one  of  the  best  men  you  could  have  chosen.  I 
heartily  love  him  ;  so,  indeed,  I  do  them  all.  They  are  men 
of  God.' 


260  memoir  of  dr.  carey. 

Messrs.  Carey,  Fountain,  Marshman,  and  Ward,  to  the 
Society. 

'  Serampore^  Jan.  25<A,  1800. 
*  Dear  Brethren, 

'  Our  brethren  and  sisters  all  arrived  in  health  and  safety  at 
this  place,  on  the  13th  of  October  last,  and  intended  to  have 
proceeded  immediately  to  Mudnabatty ;  but  government  re- 
fused trade  to  the  captain,  unless  he  produced  them  at  the 
police-office,  to  enter  into  agreement  to  return  to  England,  or 
procure  the  Company's  leave  to  reside  in  this  country;  in 
consequence  of  which,  they  all  stopped  here,  the  governor, 
Col.  Bie,  paying  them  the  utmost  attention,  and  promising  them 
his  protection,  and  passports  to  any  part  of  the  country,  when- 
ever they  wished  to  travel,  for  the  sake  of  preaching  the  word. 
They,  however,  conformably  to  their  original  destination, 
wished  to  go  up  the  country ;  and  all  the  interest  we  could 
procure  was  used  for  that  purpose,  but  in  vain.  Eveiy  one, 
also,  who  advised  at  all,  advised  them  to  settle  here,  under 
the  Danish  government. 

'  On  the  30th  of  October,  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  remove  our 
dear  brother  Grant  from  us  by  death,  after  an  illness  of  seven 
days.  A  heavy  affliction  this  ;  but  we  know  it  was  an  act  of 
the  infinitely  wise  God. 

'  Previously  to  this,  viz.,  in  May  last,  brother  Carey  had  pur- 
chased a  small  place  which  was  an  appendage  to  Mudnabatty 
indigo  works.  There  was  an  incumbrance  on  it  when  bought, 
of  three  thousand  rupees  ;  but  it  being  well  situated,  he  took 
it  for  his  own  children.     On  receiving  brother  Fuller's  letter, 

dated ,  intimating  that  more  missionaries   were   coming 

out,  and  directing  to  form  a  settlement  for  them,  he  determined 
to  give  up  this  place  to  the  mission.  Cultivation,  expenses  of 
buildings,  and  preparations  for  erecting  houses,  had  amounted 
to  about  one  thousand  rupees  more  ;  but  there  were  some  re- 
turns, and  he  thinks,  had  the  place  been  kept,  it  might  have 
been  profitable. 

'  But  when  the  brethren  were  prevented  going  thither,  and 
the  inviting  circumstances  of  this  place  were  made  known  to 
him,  he  plainly  saw  it  the  will  of  God  that  the  mission  should 
be  removed  hither.     The  heavy  debt  contracted,  the  opening 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  261 

prospect  at  Dinagepore,  the  seed  sown  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Mudnabatty,  the  school,  &c.,  were,  indeed,  heavy  burdens  on 
his  mind  ;  but  the  hope  of  being  able  at  some  time  to  liquidate 
the  debt,  the  populousness  of  Serampore  and  its  vicinity,  the 
protection  and  attention  of  the  governor,  the  certainty  of  using 
our  press  without  molestation,  and  the  necessity  of  our  living 
all  together,  preponderated  in  his  mind.  In  consequence  of 
which,  he  and  his  family,  with  brother  Fountain,  are  come 
down  to  this  place. 

'  On  a  very  attentive  survey  of  the  expenses  we  must  be  at, 
merely  to  preserve  existence,  we  are  convinced  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  live  for  less  than  £500  a  year,  even  if  we  have  no 
rent  to  pay ;  but  here,  the  rent  of  houses  is  a  very  heavy 
article,  and  would  amount  to  nearly  one  hundred  and  twenty 
ruj)ees  per  month,  for  us  all.  We  have,  therefore,  on  mature 
deliberation,  determined  to  purchase  a  house.  Accordingly, 
we  have  purchased  a  large  one,  with  nearly  two  acres  of  land, 
for  six  thousand  rupees  ;  the  hall  of  which  is  large  enough  for 
a  commodious  chapel.  Here,  with  very  little  additional  ex- 
pense, there  will  be  room  for  all  our  families,  and  from  hence 
may  the  gospel  issue,  and  pervade  all  India.  We  have  paid 
down  two  thousand  rupees  of  the  purchase  money,  out  of 
the  money  brought  out  in  dollars :  for  the  other  four  thousand, 
we  are  to  pay  twelve  per  cent,  interest,  till  we  can  get  money 
from  you  to  discharge  it.  On  account  of  this,  and  the  many 
extraordinary  expenses  which  our  being  so  long  unsettled  has 
occasioned,  we  shall  inevitably  be  reduced  to  great  straits 
before  the  end  of  the  year,  especially  as  we  find  it  almost  im 
possible  to  take  up  any  money  for  bills  on  England.  Money 
is  inconceivably  scarce  here  :  the  Company  take  up  all  they  can 
get,  at  twelve  per  cent. ;  in  consequence  of  which,  every  one 
who  has  money  in  England,  is  getting  it  out  in  dollars  to  invest 
it  in  the  Company's  funds. 

'  We  all,  and  indeed  every  one  else,  particularly  Mr.  Udney, 
think  you  would  do  well  to  send  out  all  your  money  in  dollars, 
and  invest  it  in  the  Company's  funds.  The  interest  of  £3000, 
with  v/hat  we  might  be  able  to  bring  in  ourselves,  would,  we 
hope,  be  sufficient  for  our  support,  and  would  have  the  advan- 
tage of  being  on  the  spot,  so  that  we  should  be  in  no  danger 
of  being  reduced   to  those  extremities  we  otherwise,  in     11 


262  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

probability,  shall  be.  You  now  get  only  a  small  interest  for 
it ;  but  here  the  interest  would  be  twelve  per  cent. ;  and  future 
collections  might  be  applied  to  enlarging  this,  or  forming  a 
new  mission. 

'  At  any  rate,  however,  a  pretty  large  and  immediate  assist- 
ance is  necessary,  that  we  may  pay  our  debts  and  exist.  We 
intend  to  teach  a  school,  and  make  what  we  can  of  our 
press. 

'  The  paper  is  all  arrived,  and  the  press,  with  the  types,  &c., 
complete.  The  Bible  is  wholly  translated,  except  a  few  chap- 
ters, so  that  we  intend  to  begin  printing  immediately,  first  the 
New  and  then  the  Old  Testament.  We  love  our  work,  and 
will  do  all  we  can  to  lighten  your  expenses. 
'We  are,  dear  brethren, 

'  Most  cordially  yours  in  the  gospel, 

'  W.  Carey, 
'J.  Fountain, 
'Josh.  Marshman, 
'W.Ward.' 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Serampore,  February,  5,  1800. 
'  Dear  Brother, 

'  Every  day  is  so  productive  of  something  new  in  our  situa- 
tion, that  what  we  wrote  ten  days  ago  as  a  representation  of 
our  circumstances  would  not  be  so  now.  We  are  all  of  us, 
however,  alive,  except  brother  Grant,  and  are  well. 

'  The  last  year  has  been  a  most  remarkable  one  for  changes 
in  our  circumstances ;  some  afflicting,  but  the  greatest  part 
encouraging ;  and  I  trust  the  whole  will  eventually  turn  out 
for  the  benefit  of  the  mission.  Our  removal  from  Mudnabatty 
to  this  place  is  among  the  most  remarkable  of  those  provi- 
dences which  have  occurred,  and  was  at  first  so  afflicting  to 
my  mind  that  I  scarcely  ever  remember  to  have  felt  more  on 
any  occasion  whatever :  it  was,  however,  so  clearly  the  leading 
of  Divine  Providence,  that  no  one  of  us  can  entertain  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt  respecting  it.  I  was,  and  am  still,  much 
distressed  on  account  of  the  heavy  expenses  and  losses  incur- 
red by  this  providence.  But  we  could  not  oppose  the  resolu- 
tions of  government;  nor  would  it  have  been  advisable  to 


MEMOIR   OF   DR.  CARET,  S63 

have  been  separated :  the  setting  up  of  the  press  would  have 
been  useless  at  Mudnabatty,  without  brother  Ward,  and  per- 
haps might  have  been  ruined,  if  it  had  been  attempted.  At 
this  place,  we  are  settled  out  of  the  Company's  dominions, 
and  under  the  government  of  a  power  very  friendly  to  us  and 
our  designs.  Here  is  a  more  populous  neighborhood ;  we  can 
work  our  press  without  fear,  and  pursue  our  work  with  secu- 
rity. People  also  hear  us  with  considerable  attention,  and  in 
considerable  numbers;  so  that  we  are  not  discouraged,  but 
trust  that  our  Lord  will  appear,  at  length,  and  set  up  himself 
over  this  part  of  the  earth. 

'  I  have  been  much  distressed  because  of  the  great  expense 
to  which  we  shall  necessarily  subject  our  dear  brethren  in 
England,  especially  as  it  will  so  far  exceed  their  calculation. 
Yet  I  really  think  it  to  be  impossible  to  pay  more  attention  to 
economy  than  we  do,  for  all  our  brethren  and  sisters  are  of 
one  heart  in  this  respect.  We  have  bought  a  house  for  six 
thousand  rupees,  which  is  not  more  than  the  amount  of  about 
four  years'  rent  for  houses.  Our  regular  expenses,  including 
servants  for  the  printing,  will  be  four  hundred  rupees  per 
month,  or  four  thousand  eight  hundred  a  year.  To  answer 
this  we  have  given  notes  to  several  persons  on  the  house  of 
Pinhorn,  Weston,  and  Co.  But  the  precise  sum  will  be  ascer- 
tained to-morrow.  We  have,  in  drawing  so  great  sums,  ex- 
ceeded the  powers  given  us ;  but  I  trust  we  shall  be  excused, 
when  you  are  informed  that  we  had  tried  every  quarter  we 
could  think  of  to  negotiate  bills,  for  the  last  three  months,  but 
to  no  purpose:  it  therefore  was  necessary  to  draw  to  the 
greatest  extent  that  we  could  procure  cash  for,  that  we  may 
not  be  involved  in  distress  for  want  of  money.  Perhaps  we 
may  not  be  able  to  negotiate  another  bill  these  many  months ; 
but  should  an  opportunity  present  itself,  it  would  be  highly 
imprudent  not  to  embrace  it.  We  wrote  to  you,  to  brother 
Ryland,  and  to  the  Society,  requesting  you  to  place  your 
money  in  the  Company's  funds  in  this  country.  I  again  rec- 
ommend it  very  earnestly  to  your  consideration,  on  the  fol- 
lowing accounts: 

'  1.  I  fear  dear  brother  Pearce  is  dead.  You,  brother  Ryland, 
and  a  few  of  the  most  active  to  provide  funds  for  the  mission, 


264  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

may  also  soon  die ;  and  the  work  may  fall  through  for  want  of 
active  persons  who  will  feel  interested  in  it  as  you  do.* 

'2.  The  public  mind  may  tire  soon,  especially  if  success  is 
much  longer  delayed.  In  that  case  the  mission  must  be 
broken  up  for  want  of  funds  to  support  it,  and  then  all  that  is 
done  will  be  lost.f 

'  Now,  if  you  can  send  out  all  your  funds  to  this  country, 
say  £5000,  it  would  pay  all  our  debts  and  be  a  fund  for  our 
support.  Nay,  I  cannot  say  that  £4000  might  not  suffice  ;  for 
the  difference  between  di*awing  for  £4000  at  two  shillings  and 
eightpence  per  rupee,  the  present  rate  of  exchange,  and  re- 
ceiving that  sum  in  dollars,  will  be  at  least  £700  sterling ;  so 
that,  now  we  have  paid  for  the  house,  we  should  be  nearly 
able  to  put  out  the  £4000  after  our  debts  were  paid,  which 
would  be  £480  per  annum,  without  touching  the  principal ; 
which,  with  our  school  and  the  profits  of  our  printing-press, 
would,  I  trust,  be  sufficient  for  us.  1  thuik  this  would  estab- 
lish the  mission,  so  far  as  pecuniary  help  would  be  requisite ; 
and  you  might  then  turn  your  thoughts  to  a  new  mission,  or 
to  the  enlargement  of  this,  as  it  might  appear  eligible. 

'I  have  written  so  much  about  our  temporal  concerns  in  all 
my  letters,  because  I  fear  some  of  them  may  miscarry,  and 
also  because  I  much  wish  to  see  this  mission  settled  on  a  per- 
manent foundation.  The  situation  we  are  in  is  eligible,  and 
you  may  send  missionaries  here  without  fear ;  so  that  if  what 
I  have  mentioned  can  be  accomplished,  this  mission  may  be 
reckoned  an  established  one.  We  can  also  itinerate  from  this 
place  to  any  part  of  India  without  fear,  the  governor  having 
promised  to  furnish  us  with  passports  at  any  time. 

'  Our  brethren,  who  have  written  to  many  of  the  ministers, 
will  furnish  you  with  news  respecting  our  labors,  I  suppose 
pretty  copiously.  They  can  do  it  with  a  better  grace  than  I 
can  ;  and  every  thing,  being  in  a  manner  new  to  them,  may  be 
expected  to  strike  them  more  forcibly  than  it  does  me.  We 
have  lately  had  frequent  conversations  with  the  Hindus ;  nay, 

*Dr.Ryland  has  written  here:  'This  hardly  corresponds  with  Carey's  usual 
faith.' 

I  He  also  writes  here  :  'duite  as  much  room  to  say,  if  the  Company's  fund  fails, 
who  shall  take  up  the  mission  again.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  265 

we  are  seldom  many  days  without  something  of  this  sort.  I 
believe  brother  Ward  has  given  accounts  of  several. 

'You  will,  no  doubt,  wish  to  know  my  opinion  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  I  give  it  with  great  pleasure.  Brother  Brunsdon 
1  have  not  yet  seen  ;  he  went  with  brother  Thomas  to  Beer- 
bhoom  some  time  ago,  on  account  of  Mrs.  B.'s  ill  health,  and 
they  are  not  yet  returned,  though  I  hear  her  health  is  much 
restored:  all  concur  in  the  highest  encomiums  on  him  and 
her.  Brother  Ward  is  the  very  man  we  wanted :  he  enters 
into  the  work  with  his  whole  soul.  I  have  much  pleasure  in 
him,  and  expect  much  from  him.  Brother  Marshman  is  a 
prodigy  of  diligence  and  prudence,  as  is  also  his  wife  in  the 
latter :  learning  the  language  is  mere  play  to  him ;  he  has 
already  acquired  as  much  as  I  did  in  double  the  time.  I  believe 
all  their  hearts  are  entirely  set  on  their  work.  Brother  Bruns- 
don writes  that  brother  Thomas  preaches  very  frequently  in 
the  district  of  Beerbhoom,and  is  much  followed  ;  and,  indeed, 
after  all  the  very  distressing  disappointments  which  we  have 
met  with,  I  entertain  a  hope  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant, 
when  light  will  most  powerfully  break  forth,  and  spread  over 
this  very  dark  part  of  the  earth. 

'  I  received  another  letter,  in  December,  from  Mr.  Gericke, 
which  I  intended  to  transcribe  for  you  ;  but  this  paper  will  not 
hold  it,  and  I  intend  to  write  to  dear  brother  Pearce  in  a  day 
or  two,  when  I  shall  send  it  to  him.  Lest  he  should  be  no 
more,  I  shall  send  my  letter  to  the  care  of  Mr.  King.  I  how- 
ever hope  he  still  lives ;  his  monthly  correspondence  has  filled 
me  with  gratitude,  love,  and  genuine  delight.  I  love  him  more 
and  more.  I  hope  he  still  lives  to  declare  the  works  of  the 
Lord. 

'  I  am  deeply  in  debt  to  you,  and  shall,  I  fear,  prove  insol- 
vent. You  have  written  me  six  or  seven  letters,  which  I 
received  last  year,  and  I  have  not  written  more  than  three  to 
you  in  return,  and  those  all  about  our  temporal  concerns.  1 
am  ashamed  ;  but  what  can  1  do  more  now  ?  I  will  endeavor 
to  be  more  regular  and  more  interesting,  when  we  have  gotten 
through  all  our  hurry  of  settling,  which  I  hope  will  not  be 
long. 

'  Give  my  warmest  Christian  love  to  all  your  friends.  Re- 
member me  to  all  the  ministers.  I  have  received  many  letters 
24 


266  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

by  the  missionaries :  I  will  try  to  reply  to  as  many  as  I  can. 
Brother  Marshman  has  had  a  son  born  since  he  has  been  here. 
My  Christian  love  to  Mrs.  F.  Is  yom*  book  published  ?  Pray 
send  a  few  copies  of  it. 

'  I  am,  indeed  I  am, 

'  Affectionately  yours, 

'W.Carey.' 
*  I  have  no  copy  of  this.' 


CHAPTER    VI 


SECTION  I. 


LETTERS  FROM  THE  MISSIONARIES  TO  THE  SOCIETY REMARKS 

ON  THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE — LETTER 

FROM  MR.  CAREY  TO  MR.  FULLER LETTERS  TO  MR.  SUTCLIFF 

AFFLICTION  OF  MR.  THOMAS LETTER  TO  DR.  RYLAND. 

The  short  period  to  which  the  ensuing  chapter  relates,  is 
the  only  one  in  the  labors  of  forty  years  in  which  we  are  per- 
mitted to  view  Mr.  Carey  in  the  simple  character  of  a  mission- 
ary. Hitherto  he  has  prosecuted  his  spiritual  designs  in 
combination  with  unavoidable  secular  pursuits;  and  in  a  short 
time  his  advancing  reputation  as  an  oriental  scholar,  and  his 
ardent  desire  to  translate  the  holy  Scriptures  into  the  lan- 
guages of  India,  with  other  concurring  circumstances  favorable 
to  that  great  enterprise,  will  separate  him  to  objects  mainly 
literary  and  biblical.  The  compiler,  therefore,  has  very  slight- 
ly abridged  the  letters  of  Mr.  Carey  written  at  this  juncture, 
as  they  present  him  to  us  in  a  light  different  from  any  in 
which  we  shall  hereafter  contemplate  him.  The  two  first 
documents  bear  the  joint  signatures  of  himself  and  his  asso- 
ciated brethren ;  but,  as  he  was  the  individual  of  principal 
interest  in  the  circle,  and  as  the  circumstances  detailed  were 
important,  not  only  to  the  establishment  of  the  Serampore  sta- 
tion, but  to  the  introduction  of  Mr.  Carey  to  his  grand  and 
final  pursuits,  it  was  felt  that  nothing  could  be  withholden 
without  incurring  some  prejudice  to  the  integrity  or  interest 
of  the  narrative. 

Trials  also  are  related  of  peculiar  severity,  such  as  the 


268  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

demise  of  Mr.  Fountain,  and  the  mental  affliction  of  Mrs. 
Carey  and  Mr.  Thomas.  The  contents  of  the  chapter  need 
not  to  be  anticipated,  nor  any  reflections  upon  them  premised, 
in  this  place.  The  documents  themselves  supply  a  complete 
history  of  the  epoch  to  which  they  relate,  whilst  the  providen- 
tial occurrences  they  record  are  too  obvious  to  escape  the 
attention  of  the  Christian  reader,  and  their  character  too 
clearly  marked  not  to  awaken  the  right  emotions. 

Carey,  Fountain,  Marshman,  and  Ward,  to  the  Society. 

'  Serampore,  Feb.  5,  18C0. 
*Dear  Brethren, 

'  We  have  already,  by  several  private  and  one  public  letter, 
acquainted  you  with  the  reasons  of  our  removal  here  ;  but, 
lest  the  last  mentioned  should  miscarry,  we  will  briefly  re- 
capitulate. 

'Our  brethren,  on  their  arrival  at  Serampore,  thought  of 
nothing  but  proceeding  to  Mudnabatty ;  but  Providence  very 
evidently  forbade  them,  and,  by  a  number  of  circumstances, 
quite  unthought  of  before,  determined  this  as  the  spot  on 
which  the  seat  of  the  mission  was  to  be  fixed,  there  being 
evidently  no  security  for  the  press  any  where  else,  nor  indeed 
for  the  missionaries  themselves,  with  their  increasing  and,  to 
some  connected  with  government,  alarming  families. 

'  Brother  Carey,  who  had  taken  Kidderpore  with  a  consider- 
able incumbrance  on  it,  in  full  confidence  of  making  it  the 
seat  of  the  mission,  received  this  intimation  of  the  divine  will 
with  surprise  and  astonishment.  Much  he  weighed  all  circum- 
stances, and  tried  all  his  interest  to  obtain  the  necessary 
permission  for  his  brethren  to  join  him;  but  in  vain.  Dire 
necessity  overcame  every  consideration,  and  determined  him 
to  give  up  Kidderpore,  with  all  the  accumulated  expense  of  it, 
and,  as  his  brethren  were  completely  prevented  from  removing 
to  him,  to  go  and  join  himself  to  them.  Accordingly,  Jan. 
10th,  he  and  his  family  removed  to  Serampore;  and  we  now 
form  one  family,  united,  not  more  by  necessity  and  obligation, 
than  by  mutual  inclination. 

'  Being  now  become  a  pretty  large  number,  we  were  in- 
volved in  a  degree  of  perplexity  respecting  a  habitation.  Ten 
grown  people  and  nine  children,  were  not  likely  to  be  com- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  26& 

fortable  in  an  ordinary  house  in  this  torrid  clime.  Besides,  a 
printing-room,  and  a  chapel  for  the  reception  of  a  small  Euro- 
pean congregation,  were  also  found  indispensably  necessary ; 
and  to  rent  houses  sufficient  for  these  purposes,  could  they 
have  been  procured,  would  have  been  an  enormous  expense. 
We  therefore  resolved  to  follow  the  advice  of  Governor  Bie, 
and  purchase  one.  One  quickly  presented  itself,  with  about 
two  acres  of  ground,  quite  large  enoughi,  with  its  out-houses, 
to  answer  all  these  purposes,  the  hall  of  which  the  governor 
had  purposed  before  to  convert  into  a  Danish  church.  We 
agreed  for  six  thousand  rupees  (the  house,  with  a  little  alteration, 
will  be  worth  twelve  hundred  rupees  per  annum  to  us) ;  to 
liquidate  which  we  wished  to  negotiate  bills  on  London ;  but, 
on  attempting  this,  we  found  ourselves  placed  in  the  situation 
of  beggars :  none  wished  to  send  money  to  England,  but  all^ 
to  get  their  property  from  thence,  to  place  it  in  the  Company's 
funds,  where  they  get  twelve  per  cent.  We  accordingly  met 
from  some  a  disdainful  repulse,  and  from  others  a  very  cool, 
reception.  You  may  well  suppose  our  minds  in  this  situation 
were  not  a  little  agitated.  However,  in  a  few  days  the  Lord 
relieved  us  from  our  perplexity.  A  Captain  Passmore, 
who  was  taking  passengers  to  England,  wished  to  get  bills  on 
London:  he  applied  to  Mr.  Udney,  who  very  kindly  referred 
him  to  us.  We  gave  him  bills  for  £600,  on  Weston  and  Co., 
Southwark,  for  which  we  obtained  four  thousand  five  hundred 
rupees,  exchange  being  two  shillings  and  eightpence  per 
rupee.  At  the  same  time,  brother  Forsyth  had  recommended 
another  pei-son  to  us,  a  Mr.  Dickson,  who  wanted  to  send 
almost  £^00  to  England.  By  both  these  sums  we  are  enabled 
to  pay  for  the  house,  and,  with  what  we  have  remaining  of  the 
stock  we  brought  with  us,  we  shall  have  about  two  thousand 
rupees  left  to  subsist  on,  which  we  hope  will  last  us  through 
the  month  of  July  next ;  and  then  we  shall  be  reduced  to  the 
same  difficulty  as  before :  and  should  we  not  be  able  to  nego- 
tiate bills,  which  we  are  by  no  means  certain  of,  we  must  be 
obliged  to  borrow  a  few  rupees  of  some  friend  or  other,  if  we 
can.  On  account  of  these  circumstances,  we  again  entreat 
you  to  send  out,  as  quickly  as  possible,  as  nmch  money  as  you 
can  raise,  in  dollars,  and  invest  it  in  the  Company's  funds. 

Could  you  send  out  £4000,  the  interest  of  that  sum  would 

24# 


270  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

render  us  independent  of  any  person  here.  Indeed,  so  dis- 
agreeable is  it  to  people  here  to  negotiate  bills  for  yon,  that 
they  shun  such  a  one,  as  people  in  England  would  a  perpetual 
borrower.  Surely  we  need  say  no  more  to  you  on  a  subject 
more  painful  to  us  to  mention,  than  it  can  be  to  any  of  you 
to  have  it  repeated. 

'  We  account  it  a  most  sacred  duty  to  study  the  strictest 
economy;  and  are  also  about  to  open  a  boarding-school  for 
our  common  support.  To  this  measure  we  have  been  advised 
by  many  gentlemen  of  brother  Carey's  acquaintance,  by  the 
governor,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  and  others,  who  are  acquaint- 
ed with  our  situation.  We  look  on  it  as  not  incongruous  with 
our  grand  employment,  and  are  not  without  hope  that  it  will 
be  something  more  than  a  means  of  support,  even  of  instilling 
a  knowledge  of  the  true  God  into  the  tender  minds  of  the 
rising  European  generation,  to  whom  this  is  scarcely  less 
necessary  than  to  the  Hindus.  Meanwhile  we  hope  to  keep 
our  eye  steadily  on  the  great  object  of  our  mission,  making  it 
wholly  a  public  concern,  that  no  idea  of  private  emolument 
may  pollute  the  mind  of  any  of  us,  and  intending  to  procure 
an  usher  as  soon  as  it  is  meet,  that  the  attention  and  time  of 
no  one  of  us  may  be  absorbed  thereby.  The  house  we  shall 
buy  in  your  name,  nominating  ourselves  trustees  in  behalf  of 
the  Society.  The  advantages  of  your  having  a  settlement  of 
your  own  property  in  Serampore,  are  much  greater  than  per- 
haps you  imagine.  Here  you  have  it  your  own  in  perpetuity; 
but  this  is  the  case  in  few  other  places  in  Lidia.  And  perhaps 
no  place  can  be  better  situated  for  a  general  extension  of  gos- 
pel light :  we  are  only  sixty-six  miles  from  Nuddea,  and  within 
a  hundred  miles  of  the  Mahratta  country.  May  the  Lord 
quickly  send  out  his  light  and  his  truth,  that  from  hence  they 
may  pervade  the  whole  land  of  India! 

'  We  are  your  affectionate  brethren  in  the  gospel, 

'Wm.  Caret, 
'John  Fountain, 
'Joshua  Marshman, 
'W.Ward.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  271 

The  Missionaries  to  the  Society. 

^Mission  House,  Serampore,  Oct.  10,  1800. 
'Dear  Brethren, 

'  We  have  waited  with  considerable  anxiety  to  hear  from  you ; 
and  though  two  or  three  letters  from  private  individuals,  of  a 
late  date,  have  reached  us,  we  are  still  without  any  from  the 
Society.  Cannot  these  delays  be  avoided?  Could  you  not 
return  answers  to  our  letters  by  the  fleet  which  generally 
leaves  England  soon  after  the  arrival  of  that  from  India? 
Then,  instead  of  waiting  for  answers  a  year  and  a  half  or  two 
years,  we  should  get  them  in  less  than  one. 

'  The  minutiae  of  our  affairs  will  be  found  in  the  journals, 
&c.,  of  individuals,  which  have  been  sent,  up  to  the  last  month. 

'  Discourses  are  delivered  to  the  natives  by  brother  Carey 
five  or  six  limes  a  week,  besides  frequent  occasional  conversa- 
tions. We  have  printed,  besides  a  number  of  evangelical 
hymns,  a  piece  written  by  a  native.  Ram  Roshu,  to  usher  in 
the  Bible.  We  have  also  distributed  between  two  and  three 
hundred  copies  of  the  book  of  Matthew,  which  we  considered 
of  importance,  as  containing  a  complete  life  of  the  Redeemer, — 
being  immediately  ready,  and  as  the  expense  of  five  hundred 
(the  whole  number  printed)  would  be  small,  perhaps  three  or 
four  pounds.  We  are  now  going  to  put  to  press  a  translation 
of  our  dear  brother  Pearce's  address  to  the  Lascars,  altered  a 
little  so  as  to  render  it  proper  to  be  addressed  to  all  Mussul- 
mans. We  have  another  piece  nearly  ready,  written  by  a 
native  (Ram  Boshu),  exposing  the  folly  and  danger  of  the 
Hindu  system.  This  is  peculiarly  pointed  against  Brahmun- 
ism,  something  like  those  thundering  addresses  against  the 
idle,  corrupt,  and  ignorant  clergy  of  the  church  of  Rome,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  reformation.  We  hope  by  the  time 
you  receive  this  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament  will  be 
published,  and  part  of  the  two  thousand  copies  distributed. 
We  are  now  in  Acts.  A  few  copies  of  the  Bible  have  been 
subscribed  for  by  Europeans,  at  thirty-two  rupees.  We  do  all 
in  our  power  to  lighten  the  expense  of  printing ;  but  we  find 
it  very  considerable,  owing  to  the  immense  distance  of  our 
funds.  We  print  seventeen  hundred  on  Bengali  paper,  and 
three  hundred  on  the  English  paper  sent ;  so  that  we  have  all 
this  Bengali  paper  to  purchase  as  we  want  it. 


272  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

'And  thus,  amidst  a  thousand  difficulties,  we  are  attempting 
to  prepare  materials  for  the  temple  of  the  living  God  in  this 
country.  Many  pass  by  and  sneer  at  our  design.  Yet  our 
hope  is  in  God.  Could  you  see  us  sometimes  as  we  return 
together  from  our  village  preaching,  you  would  be  ready  to 
ask,  '  What  manner  of  communications  are  these  that  ye  have 
one  to  another,  as  ye  walk,  and  are  sad  ?'  First,  one  mentions 
an  encouraging  circumstance;  and  then  another  quotes  a 
promise ;  and  then  another  tries  to  bring  a  parallel  case  ;  and 
thus  we  endeavor  to  encourage  ourselves  in  the  Lord  our  God, 
amidst  those  amazing  barriers  which  Satan  has  thrown  in  the 
way  of  the  destruction  of  his  kingdom  in  this  country.  Never 
was  there,  we  think,  such  a  combination  of  false  principles  as 
here,  and  all  so  exactly  suited  to  make  the  sinner  '  fancy  music 
in  his  chains.'  Tn  other  heathen  countries,  the  law  written 
upon  the  conscience  may  be  appealed  to,  and  often  with  effect, 
strengthening  the  power  of  conviction  produced  by  the  doc- 
trine of  revelation ;  but  here,  the  law  of  God  is  erased  from 
the  conscience,  and  a  law  of  idolatrous  ceremony  engraved  in 
its  stead.  Here  the  multitude  believe  that  the  Ganges  can 
wash  from  iniquity:  what  need  then  of  the  blood  of  Christ? 
Here  Brahmuns  unblushingly  declare  that  God  is  the  author 
of  sin,  and  that  the  world  is  merely  his  show:  so  that  sin  is  no 
longer  feared.  Here  it  is  commonly  believed  that  this  is  not  a 
state  of  probation,  but  of  re  wards  and  punishments :  the  doctrine 
of  a  future  general  judgment,  therefore,  appears  wholly  false. 
Here  the  multitude  believe  that  hell  is  a  place  of  temporary 
punishment  merely ;  so  that  no  one  much  fears,  though  he 
may  think  he  is  going  there.  Add  to  this,  all  pay  a  thousand- 
fold more  reverence  and  devotion  to  the  Brahmuns,  than  ever 
the  people  did  to  the  priesthood  in  the  darkest  periods  of 
popery ;  and  all  are  bound  in  their  present  state  by  the  chain 
of  the  caste,  in  breaking  which  a  man  must  bear  to  be  utterly 
renounced  and  abhorred,  by  his  children,  his  friends,  and  his 
countrymen.  All  the  ties  that  twine  about  the  heart  of  a 
father,  a  husband,  a  child,  a  neighbor,  must  be  torn  and  broken, 
before  a  man  can  give  himself  to  Christ.  Such  is,  to  human 
nature,  the  dreadful  colossus  which  Satan  has  erected  to  his 
own  name  in  this  country.  These  difficulties  are  increased  to 
us  by  our  want  of  language  and  of  influence,  the  example  of 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  273 

our  counti-ymen,  the  heat  of  the  climate,  &c.  We  are  often 
perplexed,  but  not  forsaken ;  cast  down,  but  not  destroyed. 
We  have  a  sure  word  of  prophecy ;  nor  are  we  utterly  without 
evidence  that  God  is  working  by  us,  and  opening  a  way  for 
gathering  a  people  in  this  benighted  region.  Our  afflictions 
have  abounded ;  but  goodness  and  mercy  have  much  more 
abounded. 

'  Our  temporal  wants  have  been  comfortably  supplied,  and 
our  efforts  to  lighten  the  burden  of  our  subsistence  have  not 
been  altogether  in  vain. 

'The  Hindu  system  is,  in  itself,  so  contrary  to  the  plainest 
principles  of  reason,  and  there  are  so  many  glaring  contradic- 
tions in  their  books,  that  it  may  be  expected  a  moderate  por- 
tion of  general  light  will  produce  considerable  effects,  after  a 
way  has  been  opened  for  the  junction  of  others  by  the  forma- 
tion of  a  native  church.  Even  now,  Brahmuns  shrink  from 
every  inquiry,  after  having  been  again  and  again  defeated,  and 
made  the  laughing-stock  of  Soodras.  Nothing  prevented  the 
universal  spread  of  the  reformation,  but  the  arm  of  power. 
Here  the  mild  and  friendly  government  under  which  we  live, 
is  disposed  to  protect  us  in  all  our  prudent  efforts. 

'  There  appears  to  be  a  growing  familiarity  between  us  and 
the  natives.  They  receive  our  printed  papers  and  books  with 
the  greatest  eagerness,  and  we  cannot  doubt  but  what  they  are 
pretty  extensively  read.  One  man  says  that  he  has  lent  his 
book  to  a  friend  at  a  distance ;  another  meets  us,  and  repeats 
part  of  what  he  has  found  in  a  hymn,  perhaps ;  another 
attempts  to  find  fault  with  something  he  has  read.  Brahmuns 
manifest  a  great  dislike  of  our  preaching  and  printing;  and 
some  begin  to  find  out  that  we  are  come  on  purpose  to  put  an 
end  to  their  trade  in  the  souls  of  men.  There  appears  to  be  a 
favorable  change  also  in  the  general  temper  of  the  people. 
Commerce  has  raised  new  thoughts  and  awakened  new  ener- 
gies ;  so  that  hundreds,  if  we  could  skilfully  teach  them  gratis, 
would  crowd  to  learn  the  English  language.  We  hope  this 
may  be  in  our  power  some  time,  and  may  be  a  happy  means 
of  diffusing  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel.  At  present  our 
hands  are  quite  full.' 

Since  this  letter  was  penned,  the  cultivation  of  the  English 
language  by  the  natives  of  India,  has  advanced  with  incredible 


274  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

rapidity,  and  promises,  ere  long,  to  become  the  medium  of 
communication  among  all  classes  of  Asiatic  society,  the  very 
poor  excepted,  to  the  extremities  of  the  Indian  empire.  It  has 
long  been  a  prime  matter  of  desire  to  the  enterprising  and 
commercial  portions  of  the  population,  who  would  spare  no 
labor,  nor  scarcely  grudge  any  expense,  which  they  were  able 
to  incur  in  its  attainment.  But  while  this  cause  is  operating, 
with  tenfold  power  compared  with  what  it  did  forty  years  ago, 
there  are  now  other  causes  at  work,  urging  them  on  to  its 
acquisition,  the  concurrent  force  of  which  will  be  irresistible, 
and  which  will  produce,  ere  long,  effects  upon  the  social, 
literary,  and  religious  interests  of  society,  to  an  extent  sur- 
passing all  calculation.  The  keen,  judicious,  and  comprehen- 
sive policy  of  that  consummate  statesman,  Lord  William 
Bentinck,  was  in  no  instance  more  conspicuous,  than  in  that 
by  which  he  ordained  that  the  orders  of  the  supreme  govern- 
ment should  hereafter  proceed  to  the  native  courts  in  the 
English  language.  By  this  measure,  the  native  princes  and  all 
their  court  functionaries  will  necessarily  become  intent  upon 
attaining  it.  Thousands,  too,  among  the  comparatively  refined 
and  affluent,  are  seeking  an  acquaintance  with  it,  that  they 
ma,y  open  to  themselves  an  access  to  the  sound  literature 
and  science,  with  all  the  other  stores  of  mental  opulence, 
which  it  contains ;  and  not  a  few,  moreover,  for  the  pleasure 
of  colloquial  intercourse.  The  consequence  of  this  will  be 
seen,  and  even  now  is  very  apparent,  in  an  assimilation  of 
sentiments,  and  an  approximation  of  manners,  between  the 
native  born  and  European  inhabitants.  A  common  language 
is  favorable  to  the  exertions  of  the  social  sympathies,  and  will 
lead  to  an  intercommunity  of  feeling  and  of  sentiment.  The 
misanthropy  of  the  Hindu  system,  in  the  ten  thousand  circum- 
stances it  enjoins  or  inhibits,  will  soon  make  it  abhorred  for  its 
inconvenience  as  much  as  it  will  be  despised  for  its  absurdity, 
wjiilst  the  facts  of  authentic  history  and  the  inductions  of 
science  will  falsify  its  pretensions  and  explode  its  principles. 
The  illusions  of  fable  and  of  fiction  are  fast  dissolving,  the 
oppressed  intelligence  of  a  multitudinous  population  is  about 
to  spring  into  life  and  action,  and  the  darkness  of  successive 
generations  to  recede  before  the  light  of  day. 

It  is  granted  that  this  may  take  place,  and  yet  the  gospel 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  275 

not  be  received.  This  is,  indeed,  possible  ;  and  a  melancholj^ 
fact  it  is.  With  devout  persons  it  should  stimulate  to  such 
increased  activities,  and  lead  to  so  great  an  augmentation  of 
resources,  as  would  render  the  means  of  a  spiritual  renovation 
commensurate  with  the  occasion  which  such  intellectual  im- 
provement supplies.  The  principles  of  science  may  be  accu- 
rately announced  and  freely  received,  and  a  sound  literature 
and  a  high  degree  of  mental  culture  may  obtain  without  an 
adequate  and  saving  religious  change  taking  effect ;  yea,  it  may 
be,  without  any  change  being  perceivable,  beyond  the  renun- 
ciation of  preposterous  errors,  and  an  abstinence  from  former 
revolting  usages.  Men  have  a  radically  vitiated  nature  to  be 
regenerated,  as  well  as  a  system  of  destructive  errors  to  abjure, 
and  a  circle  of  external  abominations  to  retrench  and  forego. 
But  yet,  though  the  turning  from  'dumb  idols'  may  not  neces- 
sarily induce  men  to  serve  the  'living  and  the  true  God,'  the 
former  is  certainly  indispensable  to  the  latter ;  and  when  one 
is  resolved  upon,  there  is,  at  least,  some  rational  hope  that  the 
other  may  succeed. 

'  The  children  in  our  Bengali  free-school,  about  fifty,  are 
mostly  very  young.  Yet  we  are  endeavoring  to  instil  into  their 
minds  divine  truth,  as  fast  as  their  understandings  ripen. 
Some  natives  have  complained  that  we  are  poisoning  the 
minds  even  of  their  very  children. 

'  We  have  been  much  comforted  and  encouraged,  also,  by 
an  apparently  very  gracious  work  on  the  hearts  of  Felix  and 
William  Carey,  the  one  fifteen  and  the  other  thirteen  years 
old.  In  the  room  of  one  of  our  brethren,  they  engage  in 
prayer  once  or  twice  a  week ;  and  on  these  occasions,  there  is 
a  simplicity,  an  earnestness,  a  fruitfulness,  and  a  love  to  Christ 
manifested,  which  does  our  souls  good.  Their  bowels  of  pity 
also  seem  to  move  for  the  poor  heathen. 

'  But  in  the  midst  of  these  labors,  difficulties,  and  encour- 
agements, we  have  been  called  to  mourn  over  the  loss  of  our 
dear  brother  Fountain,  who  died  at  Dinagepore,  on  the  20th 
of  August  last.  This  is  the  second  brother  who  has  left  us  in 
less  than  twelve  months.  In  compliance  with  the  invitation 
of  a  gentleman  (Mr.  Udney),  he  went  to  his  former  station,  to 
make  indigo.  He  was  very  poorly  when  he  left  us,  on  the  8th 
of  July.     Sister  Fountain  accompanied  him.    He  took  some 


276  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

medicines,  &c.,  with  him,  but  they  did  not  prove  sufficient  to 
uphold  his  weakly  constitution.  Soon  after  his  arrival  atMoy- 
pal,  he  went  forward  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Fernandez,  at  Din- 
agepore,  when  the  Company's  surgeon  at  that  place  was  sent 
for.  He  came  with  the  utmost  readiness,  and  bestowed  the 
kindest  attention  upon  him  during  his  whole  sickness.  Under 
his  care  for  some  days  he  appeared  better ;  but  at  length  his 
disorder  returned  with  great  force,  and  resisted  every  effort. 
The  following  account  was  written  at  our  request  by  sister 
Fountain,  and  will,  no  doubt,  be  the  more  acceptable,  as  com- 
ing immediately  from  herself.  Her  affliction  has  been  very 
great ;  but  in  the  midst  of  the  deepest  distress  she  has  been 
very  graciously  supported. 

* '  The  first  time  that  his  disorder  took  an  alarming  turn  was 
nine  days  before  his  death.  I  perceived  him  to  be  much 
worse,  and  scarcely  expected  him  to  live  through  the  day.  I 
asked  him  how  he  felt  his  mind  with  respect  to  another  world: 
he  said  it  was  tolerably  comfortable  ;  all  his  hopes  were  fixed 
on  Jesus  Christ ;  he  had  no  other  foundation  to  build  upon, 
for  all  that  he  had  done  would  by  no  means  save  him ;  he  de- 
pended on  Christ  for  the  salvation  of  his  soul,  and  he  should 
not  be  deceived.  He  then  asked  me  to  give  him  Dr.  Watts's 
hymn-book.  It  being  the  time  for  family  worship,  he  desired 
us  to  sing  the  eighty-fifth  hymn,  second  book,  and  to  read  the 
one  hundred  and  sixteenth  Psalm  ;  and  though  we  were  all 
weeping,  he  seemed  happy  and  composed.  Mr.  Fernandez 
was  obliged  to  stop  several  times  to  weep  before  he  could  get 
through.  About  the  middle  of  the  day,  Mr.  Webb  came  to 
eee  him.  He  shook  him  by  the  hand,  and  said  he  was  not 
afraid  to  die,  but  he  should  have  been  glad  to  have  lived  a  little 
longer,  that  he  might  have  done  something  more  for  God. 
He  lamented  that  he  had  done  no  more  for  him,  and  added, 
*  Now  is  the  time  to  have  the  Savior  precious.  How  miserable 
must  they  be  who  have  no  Savior  to  go  to  when  they  come 
to  die !'  He  said  he  found  enough  in  the  gospel  to  support 
his  mind  in  a  dying  hour.  In  the  afternoon,  he  desired  us  to 
sing 

'Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul,' 

And 

"^  Guide  me,  O  thou  great  Jehovah.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  S77 

And  methinks  I  now  see  him,  his  eyes  and  his  hands  Hfted  up 
to  heaven  all  the  time  of  singing.  He  seemed  in  a  very  com- 
fortable frame  all  day.  Mr.  Cunninghame  came  to  see  him'  iu 
the  evening;  but  what  he  said  I  cannot  tell,  for  I  was  not 
present  till  called  to  assist  in  singing  the  fifty-fourth  hymn, 
second  book,  which  he  chose.  That  night,  brother  Powel 
arrived.  He  asked  him  to  go  to  prayer.  Mr.  Powel  told  me, 
in  the  morning,  he  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation  with  Mr.  F. 
in  the  night,  in  which  he  said  he  had  been  harassed  with  fears 
respecting  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  that  Satan  had  sug- 
gested to  his  mind  that  his  religion  was  vain.  But,  through 
mercy,  he  was  not  suffered  to  distress  him  long. 

'  '  The  next  morning  he  was  in  great  pain.  At  another  time 
Mr.  Cunninghame  observed  to  him,  what  a  mercy  it  would  be 
if  he  were  raised  again  !  He  replied,  if  he  were,  he  wished 
to  live  with  death  and  eternity  always  in  view. 

' 'During the  last  days  of  his  life,  his  sufferings  w^ere  very 
great.  He  was  so  weak  that  he  could  say  but  little;  but  he 
seemed  to  have  a  well-grounded  hope  of  his  interest  in  the 
Savior,  and  often  wished  to  be  absent  from  the  body.  He 
frequently  repeated, '  Thou,  O  Christ,  art  all  1  want.'  '  O  that 
my  heavenly  Father  would  fetch  me  away !' 

'  '  On  the  Sabbath  before  his  death,  he  said  to  Mr.  Fernan- 
dez, '  The  next  Sabbath  I  shall  spend  will  be  with  my  heavenly 
Father.'  On  saying  to  me,  he  longed  to  be  gone,  I  said,  I 
could  almost  say  the  same,  his  sufferings  were  so  great.  Sup- 
posing I  meant  to  say,  I  should  like  to  die  with  him,  he  replied, 
'  Ah !  my  dear,  what  would  become  of  the  honor  of  God,  if  he 
were  to  take  all  his  people  to  heaven  ?  How  would  his  cause 
and  interest  be  supported  in  the  world  ?'  He  could  remember 
the  time  when  it  had  been  a  trouble  to  him  to  think  of  living 
twenty  or  thirty  years. 

'  '  On  the  day  of  his  death,  his  thoughts  were  deranged  ;  but 
he  seemed  comfortable.  After  a  little  mitigation,  he  said,  he 
should  soon  be  freed  from  these  sufferings,  and  be  at  rest.  In 
the  afternoon,  he  asked  Mr.  Powel  to  pray  for  him,  that  he 
might  have  patience  to  wait  his  appointed  time,  and  that,  if  it 
were  the  will  of  God,  his  pains  might  be  alleviated.  In  the 
evening,  he  was  much  easier,  so  that  he  was  able  to  talk  to 
me  for  some  time  ;  but  the  conversation  was  chiefly  respecting 
25 


278  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

myself.     On  retiring,  I  felt  my  mind  much  resigned  to  the  will 
of  God. 

' '  Early  the  next  morning,  I  was  called  to  take  leave  of  him, 
as  it  was  thought  he  was  dying.  He  was  in  a  happy  frame. 
He  desired  Mr.  Cunninghame  to  read  the  eighth  of  Romans, 
and  to  sing  Dr.  Watts's  one  hundredth  hymn,  second  book.  He 
then  called  Mr.  Fernandez's  son  to  him,  and  desired  him  to 
seek  after  the  welfare  of  his  soul  while  he  was  young :  he 
would  never  repent  of  it :  he  was  not  too  young  to  die.  He 
said,  he  felt  for  him,  lest  he  should  be  carried  away  with  the 
riches  and  pleasures  of  the  world,  which  would  afford  him 
no  comfort  when  he  came  to  die.  *  What  would  it  avail  me 
now,'  said  he,  '  if  I  were  governor-general  ?  That  would  not 
secure  me  from  death.'  To  Mr.  Cunninghame  he  said,  '  It 
appeared  strange  to  us  that  the  Lord  should  take  away  one  mis- 
sionary as  soon  as  he  arrived,  before  he  had  learnt  the  language, 
or  had  become  acquainted  with  the  people ;  and  now,  to  take 
another  away  as  soon  as  he  had  learnt  it.  But  God  did  noth- 
ing in  vain.'  Yet  he  frequently  said,  'Jesus,  my  Redeemer,' 
^LC,  and  seemed  anxious  to  depart.  About  two  hours  before 
his  death,  he  desired  us  to  raise  him  up ;  after  which  he 
seemed  to  be  in  prayer  for  some  minutes ;  yet  we  could  only 
hear,  'Faith' — 'My  Redeemer' — 'My  heavenly  Father,'  &c. 
These  are  the  last  words  he  was  heard  to  utter.  At  length, 
without  a  groan,  he  sweetly  fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 

'  'M.  Fountain." 

'  The  next  morning,  brother  Fountain  was  buried  among  the 
Europeans  who  have  died  at  Dinagepore.  All  the  gentlemen 
of  the  place  attended.  The  church  of  England  funeral-service 
was  read  by  the  judge.  Mr.  Fernandez,  whose  kindness  to 
our  brother  lays  us  under  renewed  obligations,  has  signified 
his  intention  of  placing  a  stone  over  the  grave,  with  the  in- 
scription brother  F.  suggested : 

« JOHN  FOUNTAIN, 

'  MISSIONARY  TO  THE  HEATHEN, 

'AGED  33. 

'  A  SINNER  SAVED  BY  GRACE.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  279 

'We  have  much  to  be  thankful  for,  in  that  we  have  some- 
times sweet  fellowsliip  together  in  our  family  meetings,  and 
that  our  hearts  are  one  in  the  great  work  which  is  in  our 
hands,  both  as  it  respects  the  means  of  carrying  it  on,  and  the 
labors  connected  with  it. 

'  We  are,  very  dear  brethren,  yours, 

'Wm.  Carey, 
'Josh.  Marshman, 
'W.    Ward, 
'  D.  Brunsdon.' 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'My  dear  Brother, 

'  I  am  sensible  that  my  correspondence  has,  of  late,  been 
very  uninteresting,  nor  do  I  know  how  to  remedy  it.  I  know 
that  you  wish  for  details  of  our  engagements  and  circumstan- 
ces, and  I  have  several  times  begun  to  keep  a  journal ;  but, 
either  from  want  of  perseverance,  or  the  intervention  of  other 
things,  have  never  kept  it  regularly  ;  and  even  if  I  could  do 
that,  the  copying  it  would  be  a  dreadful  task.  To  remedy  this 
in  some  measure,  I  have  formed  a  design  of  writing  my  letters 
to  you  in  the  form  of  a  journal,  and  by  this  means  I  may  re- 
tain some  of  those  circumstances  which  would  otherwise  be 
forgotten  or  neglected,  and  may  also,  perhaps,  fill  a  letter  in  a 
couple  of  months.  Other  correspondents  may  receive  shorter 
letters  on  this  account,  and  yours  may  have  many  inaccuracies 
in  diction  ;  but  I  cannot  suppose  this  will  be  a  loss  to  any  one, 
for  my  letters  are  generally  uninteresting,  if  not  trifling. 

'  Oct.  21.  Brother  Thomas  has  been  here  a  week  or  more, 
and  we  have  appointed  every  Tuesday  morning,  at  six,  as  a 
season  of  prayer  for  the  blessing  of  God  on  our  labors.  Till 
now,  we  had  such  a  season  once  a  month,  on  a  Monday  morn- 
ing. This  was  the  first  time  of  our  weekly  prayer-meeting. 
Brother  Thomas  appeared  unusually  engaged  in  prayer;  after 
him,  brother  Brunsdon  and  myself  engaged.  I  was  somewhat 
enlightened  by  the  opportunity,  especially  as  I,  last  night,  had 
a  long  conversation  with  three  Hindus,  the  hardness  of  whose 
hearts  discouraged  me.  I  will  try  to  recollect  some  part  of  it. 
They  came  and  said  that  they  wanted  to  have  a  little  conver- 
sation about  the  gospel.     But  I  am  totally  unable  to  recollect 


280  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

SO  iniich  of  the  conversation  as  to  write  any  thing  connected 
about  it;  so  must  leave  it.  This  is  the  case  with  many  dis- 
putes, conversations,  and  conferences  held  with  the  Hindus : 
they  appear  important  while  they  last,  and,  I  trust,  are  really 
so ;  but  sometimes  the  sameness  of  one  to  another  renders 
them  unimportant  when  written  in  English:  often  the  appar- 
ently little  quibbles,  though  really  important  m  our  situations, 
do  not  appear  sufficiently  so  to  send  to  England.  We  know 
nothing  of  the  disputes  which  you  in  Europe  are  engaged 
in  ;  ours  bear  a  nearer  resemblance  to  those  of  the  Protestants 
with  the  Papists  at  the  Reformation  ;  but  a  nearer  still  to  those 
of  the  old  fathers  with  the  heathen  and  gnostics,  such  as  you 
will  find  in  Justin  Martyr  and  Trenseus. 

'  Oct.  22.  Last  evening,  brother  Brunsdon  and  myself  went 
to  a  village  about  three  or  four  miles  distant,  called  Rishera. 
We  were  both  weary  and  discouraged  before  we  got  there ; 
however,  we  went  to  the  market-place,  where  three  or  four 
people  were  sitting  smoking  their  hookas.  I  saw  they  were 
Brahmuns,  and  therefore  went  up  to  them,  and  inquired  what 
was  the  matter  with  their  faces?  It  is  the  custom  of  the  Hin- 
dus to  make  a  stroke  with  powder  of  sandal  wood,  or,  more 
frequently,  with  a  wliite  earth,  brought,  it  is  said,  from  the 
temple  of  Juggunnath,  in  Oi-issa.  These  marks  have  divers 
names;  but  the  most  common  is  a  perpendicular  line,  called 
Teelak.  They  answered,  it  was  the  Teelak.  I  inquired 
why  they  put  such  a  mark.  They  said,  it  was  a  piece  of  holi- 
ness, and  pleaded  the  authority  of  the  Shastras.  I  inquired 
what  Shastras?  and  what  proof  they  had  of  their  books  being 
divine  ?  While  we  were  thus  talking,  a  good  number  of  peo- 
ple got  together,  and  among  the  rest  an  old  Brahmun,  of  very 
good  understanding.  I  had  just  inquired  whether  any  one 
could  inform  me  how  my  sins  might  be  pardoned  ?  but  on  this 
old  man's  coming  up  they  all  referred  me  to  him.  I  sat  down 
on  a  mat,  he  on  another,  and  the  rest  of  the  people  around  us, 
and  then  I  repeated  the  question.  He  said,  that  profound 
meditation  and  acts  of  holiness  would  answer  the  purpose.  1 
observed,  that  we  were  sinfully  inclined,  and  therefore  could 
not  possibly  do  a  good  action.  You  may,  said  I,  as  well  expect 
to  see  mangoes  produced  on  the  Indian  fig,  or  cocoanuts  on 
the  toddy  tree,  as  to  see  fruits  of  holiness  proceed  from  a  sin- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  281 

fill  heart.  You  all,  said  I,  love  this  present  world,  and  are 
pursuing  sin  with  greediness ;  now  you  cannot  love  sin  and 
God  at  the  same  time,  and  you  may  as  well  expect  to  see  tire 
and  water  agree,  as  persons  with  sinful  hearts  and  desires 
cordially  approve  of  the  character  of  God.  All  the  ceremo- 
nies, said  I,  which  you  call  holiness,  may  he  performed  by  the 
vilest  of  men,  and  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  Brahmun  to 
be  employed  one  hour  in  these  ceremonies,  and  the  next  hour 
to  lie,  steal,  or  commit  adultery  :  indeed,  we  cannot  expect  that 
you  should  be  better  than  your  gods.  The  Brahmun  tried  to 
defend  their  characters,  but  in  vain.  I  produced  instances 
from  their  books  of  their  vices.  I  inquired,  how  can  you  sup- 
pose these  things  to  be  at  all  related  to  a  holy  God  ?  They 
are  not  God,  nor  the  friends  of  God,  nor  even  his  servants. 
For  instance  ;  you  cannot  suppose  that  I  should  keep  a  servant 
whom  I  knew  to  be  a  person  addicted  to  every  evil ;  much  less 
should  I  choose  such  a  person  for  my  friend.  They  pleaded, 
that  these  debtas  were  gods.  I  observed,  you  may  as  well  tell 
me  that  you  are  a  Brahmun,  a  Soodra,  a  Chundal,  a  Mussul- 
man, a  Portuguese,  an  Englishman,  &c.  Brahmun,  said  I, 
you  and  I,  and  all  of  us  are  sinners,  and  we  are  in  a  helpless 
state ;  but  I  have  good  tidings  to  tell  you.  God,  in  the  riches 
of  his  mercy,  became  incarnate,  in  the  form  of  man.  He  lived 
more  than  thirty  years  on  the  earth,  without  sin,  and  was  em- 
ployed in  doing  good.  He  gave  sight  to  the  blind,  healed  the 
sick,  the  lame,  the  deaf,  and  the  dumb;  and,  after  all,  died  in 
the  stead  of  sinners.  We  deserved  the  wrath  of  God ;  but  he 
endured  it.  We  could  make  no  sufficient  atonement  for  our 
guilt ;  but  he  completely  made  an  end  of  sin,  and  now  he  has 
sent  us  to  tell  you  that  the  work  is  done,  and  to  call  you  to 
faith  in, and  dependence  on,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Theiefore, 
leave  your  vain  customs,  and  false  gods,  and  lay  hold  of  eter- 
nal life,  through  him.'  After  much  discourse  of  this  sort,  we 
presented  him  with  a  copy  of  Matthew's  gospel,  and  three 
more  to  three  other  persons.  He  promised  to  read,  and  make 
himself  well  acquainted  with  its  contents,  and  then  to  converse 
more  about  it.  It  was  now  dark :  I  therefore  prayed  with 
them,  and  we  returned  home. 

'  Nov.  2.  The  people  are  so  moveable,  some  going  and  others 
coming,  that  often  the  congregation  is  quite  changed  before 
25* 


Q8^  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

we  have  done.  I  think  it  desirable  that  all  should  hear  of  the 
incarnation  and  death  of  Christ,  and  the  reasons  thereof;  but 
on  that  account,  am  often  obliged  to  repeat  those  circum- 
stances several  times  over  at  one  standing,  that  all  may  hear 
the  gospel. 

'  A  Christian  native  Malabar,  from  Tranquebar,  came  to  see 
us  this  morning  :  he  could  speak  very  little  English,  but  spoke 
German  very  fluently.  We  had  heard  from  some  Europeans 
very  unfavorable  accounts  of  the  Malabar  Christians  ;  but  this 
man,  perhaps  on  that  account,  far  exceeded  our  expectations. 
He  says,  that  there  are  at  least  thirty-five  thousand  Christians 
on  the  coast,  from  Tranquebar  to  Cape  Comorin.  There  is  a 
catechist  in  every  village,  who  assembles  and  instructs  them 
every  day ;  and  there  are  elders  in  all  the  larger  churches. 
Their  schools  are  very  prosperous ;  in  them  they  teach  the 
German,  Danish,  and  Portuguese  languages ;  and  several  of 
the  sciences.  This  man  had  with  him  a  German  Bible,  and 
appeared  to  be  well  acquainted  with  it.  It  is  impossible  to 
say  much  of  his  religion.  He  attended  an  English  sermon, 
preached  by  brother  Thomas,  and  gave  a  good  account  of  some 
parts  of  it  afterwards.  I  shall  enclose  to  you,  or  to  Dr.  Ryland, 
copies  of  letters  to  me  from  Mr.  Gericke,  one  of  the  mission- 
aries, which  will  give  you  a  further  account  of  the  work  there. 
I  was  much  encouraged  by  this  man,  and  thought,  indeed  I 
have  long  thought,  whether  it  would  not  be  desirable  for  us  to 
set  up  a  school,  to  teach  the  natives  English.  I  doubt  not  but 
a  thousand  scholars  would  come  :  I  do  not  say  this  because 
I  think  it  an  object  to  teach  them  the  English  tongue,  but 
query,  is  not  the  universal  inclination  of  the  Bengalies  to 
learn  English,  a  favorable  circumstance,  which  may  be 
improved  to  valuable  ends?     I  only  hesitate  at  the  expense. 

'  Had  a  good  congregation  of  Portuguese,  Hindus,  and  Mus- 
sulmans, in  the  evening,  at  our  house.  1  preached  to  them 
from  the  parable  of  the  sower;  was  much  filled  with  a  desire 
for  their  conversion. 

'  On  Tuesday  morning,  the  day  before  yesterday,  was  our 
weekly  prayer  meeting :  it  was  a  good  season.  Brother  Thom- 
as, who  is  still  here,  and  myself,  then  went  down  to  Calcutta; 
we  went  to  the  liouse  of  Mr.  Wilcox,  supercargo  of  an  Amer- 
ican vessel,  from  Philadelphia,  who  had  brought  us  letters  and 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY.  283 

parcels,  and  at  his  house  we  slept.  There  were  a  great 
number  of  merchants,  Sirkars,  and  others,  perhaps  thirty  or 
more,  at  his  house.  I  entered  into  conversation  with  one  of 
them,  a  man  of  great  wealth  and  respectability ;  and  others 
listened.  After  a  few  preliminary  questions  and  answers,  I 
insensibly  got  into  a  preaching  mood,  and  discoursed  with 
them  upon  the  way  of  life  by  Christ,  and  the  insufficiency  of 
all  other  ways.  They  objected  to  the  death  of  Christ,  saying, 
that  God  could  not  die.  I  told  them,  it  was  true,  God,  or  the 
divine  nature,  could  not  die  ;  but  God  incarnate  could,  and  that 
he  was  incarnate  for  that  purpose,  '  made  lower  than  the  an- 
gels for  the  suffering  of  death.'  They  acquiesced  and  won- 
dered. The  great  man  to  whom  I  principally  directed  myself 
at  first,  told  me  that  he  had  that  day,  or  the  day  before,  received 
the  Gospel  by  Matthew.  We  have  dispersed  nearly  five  hun- 
dred copies  of  Matthew,  which  are  read  by  many.  Yesterday, 
at  the  house,  or  rather  as  I  was  leaving  the  house,  of  a  friend 
in  Calcutta,  I  met  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Buchanan.  It  is  three 
years  since  I  saw  him,  but  he  remembered  me,  and  we  had  a 
very  pleasant  conversation  in  the  yard.  He  was  very  friendly, 
and  invited  me  to  his  house.  We  had  much  talk  about  the 
governor-general's  disposition  towards  the  mission.  He  in- 
formed me  that  he  was  sure  we  should  have  been  perfectly 
secure  in  Calcutta,  and  might  have  preached  any  where  in  the 
town,  if  we  had  not  assembled  a  congregation  before  the  gov- 
ernment house,  which  would  have  been  indecent.  He  said 
that  Marquis  Wellesley,  when  he  first  heard  of  a  printing-press 
at  Serampore,  supposed  that  some  wild  democrat  might  have 
run  from  Calcutta,  and  got  protection  under  the  Danish  gover- 
nor ;  but  that  he  was  now  perfectly  satisfied,  and  perfectly  well 
understood  the  design  of  our  mission.  Wlien  I  left  him,  I  went 
to  the  house  of  Captain  Hague,  of  the  Amelia,  New  York,  who 
is  son  to  Mr.  Hague,  Bai)tist  minister,  of  Scarborough,  Yorkshire. 
At  his  house  I  found  some  of  the  merchants  to  whom  I  had 
discoursed  yesterday.  They  began  to  provoke  me  to  speak  of 
many  things  ;  I  therefore  went  over,  to  them  and  thirty  or  forty 
more,  the  history  of  the  life  and  death  of  Christ,  and  pressed 
them  to  embrace  him  for  themselves.  They  heard  with  great 
attention  and  pleasure,  apparently.  I  then  returned  home  with 
a  Hindu,  whose  name  is  Fakira,  a  native   of  Beerbhoom,  to 


284  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

whom  I  hope  brother  Thomas  has  been  savingly  useful.  I 
hope  to  baptize  him,  Mr.  Fernandez,  and  one,  if  not  both,  of 
my  sons,  in  a  very  little  time.  I  am  not  altogether  without 
hope  of  Ram  Boshu.  He  has  written  two  pieces ;  one  designed 
to  introduce  the  gospel,  the  other,  a  very  hard-mouthed  attack 
on  the  Brahmuns.  I  saw  him  last  night;  he  means  to  write 
to  Dr.  Ryland  by  these  ships. 

'  There  is  a  very  considerable  difference  in  the  appearance 
of  the  mission,  which  to  me  is  encouraging.  The  Brahmuns 
are  now  most  inveterate  in  their  opposition  :  they  oppose  the 
gospel  with  the  utmost  virulence,  and  the  very  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  seems  abominable  to  their  ears.  Yet  they  hear  and 
dispute,  are  often  put  to  silence,  and  sometimes  to  shame. 
Brother  Ward  and  I  went  out  one  evening,  designing  to  have 
gone  to  a  village  about  three  or  four  miles  off.  We  had  not 
got  quite  out  of  Serajnpore,  when  we  were  called  by  some 
Brahmuns.  Brother  Ward  wished  to  go  on ;  but  I  thought  it 
best  to  go  to  them.  I  began  conversation  ;  they  began  object- 
ing; one  man  in  particular  began  to  exculpate  himself,  and  to 
cast  the  blame  of  all  sin  on  God.  I  immediately  addressed 
his  conscience  as  closely  as  I  could ;  charged  sin  upon  him ; 
appealed  to  all  present  whether  that  man  was  not  a  sinner ; 
told  him  that,  notwithstanding  he  called  himself  a  god,  he 
must  die  like  a  man,  and  very  soon  give  an  account  of  all  his 
conduct  to  a  just  and  impartial  God.  I  exhorted  him  and  all 
present  to  lay  hold  of  Christ,  and  not  to  deceive  themselves 
any  longer.  A  multitude  tried  to  object ;  but  I  persisted  in 
declaring  their  danger,  and  the  only  remedy.  They  told  me 
they  never  would  embrace  Christ ;  and,  said  one  of  them,  do 
you  worship  our  Krishnu,  and  believe  our  books,  that  you  may 
be  saved.  1  immediately  placed  myself  by  the  side  of  a  Brah- 
mun,  and  said,  well,  appoint  a  day  to  invest  me  with  the  Poi- 
too,*  and  teach  me  the  Gayotee.f  Oh !  says  he,  you  cannot 
become  a  Brahmun,  you  must  be  a  Soodra.  Yes,  said  1,  a 
pretty  business  !  You  want  to  put  me  under  your  feet,  do 
you  ?     Is  this  your  religion  and  benevolence  ?     I  preach  the 

*  The  Braliminical  thread. 

t  A  verse  taught  at  their  investment  with  the  thread,  accounted  so  holy,  that  none 
but  a  Brahmun  must  hear  it.    I  have,  however,  got  it. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  285 

gospel  to  you,  that  you  may  become  my  brother,  my  beloved 
friend ;  and  you  invite  me  to  embrace  your  Shastras,  that  I 
may  become  your  slave  !  I  have  since  been  invited  to  embrace 
Krishnu ;  but  my  answer  is,  what  fruits  have  the  servants  of 
Krishnu  to  show  ?  You  are  proud,  false,  designing,  treacher- 
ous, dishonest ;  and  no  wonder,  for  so  was  your  god ;  but 
whoever  believes  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  will  be  purified 
from  his  love  to  sin,  and  delivered  from  slavery  to  it.  The 
evening  above  mentioned,  we  were  assaulted  with  all  the  in- 
sulting language  that  malice  could  invent ;  however,  the  next 
Sabbath,  I  went  to  the  very  same  place,  when  they  behaved 
with  as  much  decorum  as  could  be  expected. 

'  Our  brother  Marshman,  who  is  a  true  missionary,  is  able  to 
talk  a  little  :  he  goes  out  frequently,  nay  almost  every  day,  and 
assaults  the  fortress  of  Satan.  Brother  Brunsdon  can  talk  a 
little,  though  not  like  Marshman.  Brother  Ward  is  a  great 
prize ;  he  does  not  learn  the  language  so  quickly,  but  he  is  so 
holy,  so  spiritual  a  man,  and  so  useful  among  the  children  of 
the  family,  that  very  pleasing  appearances  in  some  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  school  have  taken  place.  My  two  eldest  sons 
appear  to  be  truly  converted.  Felix,  the  eldest,  has  an  inclina- 
tion, and  1  trust  will  have  talents,  for  the  ministry  among  the 
heathen.  Brother  Ward  has  frequently  taken  him  out,  and  he 
has  addressed  the  heathen  in  a  very  interesting  manner;  his 
knowledge  of  the  language  will  give  him  an  advantage  far 
greater  than  any  person  can  have  who  learns  it  at  a  more  ad- 
vanced period  of  life. 

'  Nov.  22d.  Yesterday,  brother  Brunsdon  and  myself  went 
to  Baddhee-Batee :  very  few  attended,  and  no  impression 
seemed  to  be  made.  Not  more  than  ten  were  present.  Some 
of  them  were  people  who  had  brought  a  sick  man  to  die  on 
the  bank  of  the  river.  This  is  a  common  thing :  they  kill  the 
person  by  putting  him  in  the  water  when  supposed  to  be  in 
dying  circumstances,  and  pouring  the  water  into  his  mouth  as 
into  a  tunnel.  As  we  went,  had  a  little  talk  with  some  Mus- 
sulmans, at  a  noted  place  of  their  worship,  and  gave  them  two 
copies  of  dear  brother  Pearce's  address  to  the  Lascars,  which 
we  have  translated  and  printed.  Last  night  brother  Ward  and 
Felix  had  a  prayer-meeting  with  Fakira.  They  were  rejoiced 
to  see  him  press  the  gospel  of  Matthew  to  his  heart,  as  a 


286  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

treasure  which  he  most  highly  esteemed.     Brother  Marshman 
went  to  a  Mussulman-dyer's  house  to  talk  about  Christ. 

'  Last  Lord's  day  we  had  perhaps  the  most  mixed  congrega- 
tion that  you  ever  heard  of.  It  consisted  of  English,  Danes, 
Norwegians,  Germans,  Americans,  Armenians,  a  Greek,  and  a 
Malabar,  whom  I  addressed  from  Isa.  Iv,  1,  2.  We  preach  in 
the  evening  of  a  Lord's  day  in  our  own  house.  This  was 
originally  designed  for  the  instruction  of  the  servants ;  several 
others  however  attend,  and  among  them  a  good  number  of 
Portuguese  have  lately  come  to  hear.  Yesterday  Ram  Boshu 
was  here,  to  revise  his  piece  against  the  Brahmuns,  in  order 
to  its  being  printed.  It  is  very  severe ;  but  it  must  be  so  to 
make  them  feel.  Notwithstanding  all  his  caution,  he  is  obliged 
to  dispute  for  the  gospel  sometimes,  and  meets  with  more 
severity  from  the  Brahmuns  than  he  would  in  all  probability 
meet  with  if  he  were  wholly  on  the  side  of  Christ.  I  hope  he 
may  not  be  able  to  hold  it  out  much  longer.  I  long  to  see 
Hurry  Charon,  and  Sookman ;  but  have  had  no  account  of  the 
state  of  their  minds  since  I  left  Mudnabatty,  which  is  now 
near  eleven  months.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  be  away  till 
the  Bible  is  printed. 

'To-day  they  are  printing  off  as  far  as  1  Corinthians  xi 
chapter,  26  verse.  I  have  had  convincing  proofs  that  the 
translation  is  well  understood  by  those  who  read  it.  I  was  at 
a  village  one  day,  when  a  man  read  the  sixth  and  part  of  the 
seventh  of  Matthew  to  a  good  number  of  people,  who  under- 
stood it  well ;  neither  the  reader  nor  hearers  had  seen  a  book 
till  about  two  days  before.  I  explained  the  meaning,  or  rather 
discoursed  upon  it,  verse  by  verse,  as  he  read  it.  I  have  met 
with  many  difficulties  in  the  translating.  Indeed  I  began  to 
write  a  series  of  questions  upon  the  hard  places,  but  really 
have  not  time  to  continue  it.  The  introduction  to  the  Epistle 
to  the  Romans  is  peculiarly  difficult  to  put  into  intelligible 
sentences.  The  words,  '  carnal,'  '  spiritual,'  the  phrase,  '  after 
the  flesh,'  &c.,  are  so  foreign  to  any  idea  in  the  Bengal  lan- 
guage, that,  though  I  have  labored  much,  I  have  scarcely  been 
able  to  express  the  precise  ideas.  But  I  hope  the  defects  of 
that  sort  will  be  found  to  be  much  fewer  than  feared  some 
time  ago. 

'  Brother  Marshman  visits  the  Bengali  school  every  day ;  the 


MEMOIR    or    DR.  CAREY.  287 

superintendence  of  it  belongs  to  him,  and  he  is  very  diligent  in 
his  attention  to  it.  We  have  an  intention,  as  soon  as  w^e  are 
able,  to  set  up  a  school  to  teach  the  natives  English.  The  de- 
sign of  this  is  to  turn  the  almost  universal  desire  of  this  people 
to  acquire  English  to  some  profitable  account.  The  plan  is  not 
yet  matured,  nor  will  our  circumstances  admit  of  it  at  present. 

'  I  intend  to  send  this  by  the  Highland  Chief  in  the  regular 
packet,  but  shall  give  a  line  to  a  serious  young  man,  Mr.  Brown, 
who  has  lived  at  Malda  about  four  years.  He  is  going  to 
Scotland,  and  proposes  to  return  to  India  by  the  next  ships. 
He  spent  a  Sabbath  with  us  a  fortnight  ago.  I  desired  him  to 
call  on  you,  and  tell  you  what  he  has  seen  and  heard. 

'  Farewell,  my  dear  brother ;  you  have  all  need  of  patience. 
The  expense  of  the  mission  is  great,  and  success  has  been 
long  delayed ;  but  in  due  season  you  shall  reap,  if  you  faint 
not.  We  are  full  of  expectation,  we  are  full  of  hope.  My 
very  cordial  Christian  love  to  all  the  ministers,  either  of  my  ac- 
quaintance or  yours,  to  the  churches,  to  the  Kettering  friends. 
Pray  is  your  book  against  infidelity  out  ?  Do  send  another 
copy  of  your  'Letters  against  Socinianism.'  Christian  love  to 
Mrs.  Fuller,  Mrs.  Wallis,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gotch,  Timms,  Hob- 
son,  &c.  I  am,  very  aflfectionately  yours, 

'  Wm.  Carey.' 

'  Serampore,  2Sd  JYov.,  1800.' 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'Abu.  27,  1800. 
'My  very  dear  Brother, 

'I  think  that  I  have  been  more  negligent  of  you  than  of  any 
of  my  correspondents  lately,  not  because  I  love  you  less  than 
them,  for  I  do  not  know  a  person  in  England  whom  I  esteem 
more  than  yourself;  but  it  has  really  been  a  very  difficult 
thing  with  me  to  get  time  to  write  to  any  one.  The  printing 
requires  much  more  of  my  time  and  attention  than  I  had 
thought  it  possible.  I  find  the  copy,  after  three  or  four  re- 
visals,  still  to  require  a  very  close  examination  and  rigid  cor- 
rection ;  besides  the  labor  of  correcting  the  proofs,  which, 
from  the  faulty  state  of  Bengal  orthography,  is  a  far  greater 
and  more  difficult  work  than  you  can  possibly  form  any  idea 
of.     It  is  well  that  I  had  previously  attained  a  small  knowledge 


288  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

of  Sanscrit;  for,  as  this  work  will  perhaps  hereafter  be  the 
standard  for  Bengal  orthography,  the  little  I  know  of  Sanscrit 
is  a  great  assistance  in  the  spelling.  We  began  the  New 
Testament  first,  as  it  would  form  the  most  important  book  to 
put  into  the  hands  of  the  natives,  and  are  this  day  printing  off 
the  last  chapter  of  1  Cor.  and  one  page  of  the  first  chapter  of 
2  Cor.  Thus  far  the  Lord  has  led  us  on  in  this  great  work, 
and  I  hope  we  may  be  able  to  send  you  a  Bengali  New  Tes- 
tament by  the  last  ships  of  this  season.  No  ship  from  Eng- 
land is  yet  arrived  ;  the  two  first,  viz.,  the  Queen  and  the  Kent, 
are  both  lost,  and  with  them  whatever  letters  had  been  sent 
from  England  in  them.  The  Queen  was  burnt  off  the  coast 
of  South  America,  and  the  Kent  taken  by  a  French  privateer 
just  at  the  entrance  of  Calcutta  river.  The  captain  and  sever- 
al others  lost  their  lives  in  the  engagement. 

'  I  must  write  my  letters  in  way  of  journals  to  all  my  cor- 
respondents ;  by  that  method  f  may  be  able  to  supersede  the 
keeping  a  journal,  which  I  cannot  regularly  do.  I  finished  a 
letter  in  this  way  last  to  brother  Fuller ;  now  I  begin  one  to 
you.  I  have  very  great  pleasure  in  all  our  brethren  and  sis- 
ters ;  they  are  of  the  right  sort,  and  perhaps  as  striking  a  proof 
as  ever  was  exhibited  of  the  possibility  of  persons  of  different 
tempers  and  abilities  being  able  to  live  in  one  family  in  the 
exercise  of  Christian  love ;  perhaps  there  never  was  a  greater 
diversity  in  natural  disposition  and  temper;  yet  this  diversity 
serves  to  correct  us  all :  we  really  love  one  another.  All  our 
brethren  begin  to  speak  the  language,  and  hold  conversations 
upon  religious  subjects  with  the  natives.  I  have  more  cause 
for  joy  than  any  one  likewise,  on  account  of  the  grace  of  God 
towards  me.  I  trust  God  has  mercifully  begun  a  work  of  his 
Spirit  on  the  hearts  of  my  two  eldest  sons ;  it  has  been  of 
some  standing  now,  viz.,  about  three  months,  and  was  begun 
in  both  at  the  same  time,  or  nearly  so.  Felix,  the  eldest,  often 
goes  out  with  brother  Ward,  who  has  encouraged  him  to 
speak  to  the  heathen ;  and  I  find  he  has  several  times  done  so 
to  the  satisfaction  of  our  brethren  who  have  heard  him. 

'  This  morning  I  went  to  see  a  man  who  had  yesterday  dis- 
located his  shoulder,  and  which  we  had  reduced.  He  was 
recovered.  On  the  way,  I  Avas  called  to  by  three  men,  and  sat 
down  with  them  on  the  bench  at  their  door,  where  I  declared 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  289 

the  gospel  to  them.  They  heard  with  pleasure,  and  desired 
me  to  come  again :  thus  we  preach  publicly,  and  from  house 
to  house.  A  Brahmun  came  this  morning  to  discourse  with 
us.  He  utterly  denied  being  guilty  of  any  sin.  I  endeavored 
to  prove  to  him  that,  whatever  he  thought,  God  did  not  look 
upon  him  in  any  other  light  than  that  of  a  great  sinner,  and 
that  the  reason  why  he  thought  himself  sinless  was,  that  sin 
had  blinded  his  eyes,  and  deprived  him  of  all  feeling;  that,  if 
ever  he  was  saved,  the  first  thing  he  felt  would  be  the  opening 
the  eyes  of  his  understanding,  and  filling  his  heart  with  sorrow 
and  remorse.     He  went  away,  as  he  came,  as  hard  as  a  stone. 

'28.  Last  evening,  brethren  Marshman  and  Brunsdon,  also 
brother  Ward  and  my  son  Felix,  went  over  the  river  in  two 
parties,  and  had  two  good  congregations.  The  river  here  is 
as  wide  as  the  Thames  at  Gravesend.  I  was  last  evening  em- 
ployed in  teaching  the  English  language  to  a  German  lady, 
who,  I  hope,  possesses  the  grace  of  God.  She  is  a  person  of 
large  fortune.  I  believe  her  father  Avas  a  count ;  but  she  in- 
forms me  that  he  would  never  accept  any  but  his  hereditary 
title.  She  is  from  Sleswick,  and  has  been  instructed  in  the 
school  of  affliction.  She  came  last  year  into  this  country  for 
her  health,  not  having  been  able  to  speak  or  stand  for  some 
years.  Her  speech  is  restored,  and  she  can  walk  a  little  ;  her 
name  is  Rumohr.  1  trust  she  has  met  with  some  good  to  her 
soul  in  this  place.  Another  person,  whose  name  is  Mrs.  Rolt, 
was  here  a  little  time  ago,  apparently  in  the  last  stage  of  a 
consumption.  I  trust  she  has  found  the  Savior  of  sinners, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  some  of  our  brethren. 

'  Dec.  1.  Yesterday  was  Lord's  day.  Our  brethren  now 
begin  to  stand  upon  their  own  legs  in  preaching.  In  the 
morning,  I  went  out  alone,  and  stood  up  close  to  an  idol's  tem- 
ple, where  I  had  an  attentive  congregation,  and  after  that, 
another  in  the  market-place.  I  then  returned  home  to  breaks 
fast.  Brother  Brunsdon  and  my  son  Felix,  went  another  way ;. 
and  brother  Marshman,  with  my  other  son,  William,  took 
another  road.  Great  numbers  of  people  were,  at  this  time, 
going  to  Calcutta,  to  the  Shraddha  of  Gour  Mullik,  an  enor- 
mously rich  man,  said  to  have  died  worth  eighty-four  lacs  of 
rupees ;  it  is  said  that  five  lacs  were  to  be  distributed  to  the 
poor  on  this  occasion,  which  would  amount  to  about  a  rupee 
26 


290  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

each  to  tlie  people,  who  went  from  all  parts.  This  furnished 
our  brethren  with  large  congregations,  as  they  met  on  the 
high  road. 

'  4.  The  evening  before  last,  brother  Marshman  and  myself 
went  to  a  village,  called  Rissera,  where  we  declared  the  name 
of  Christ  in  the  market-place,  to  a  few  people,  who  heard  with 
some  attention.  The  same  evening  brother  Ward  and  Felix 
were  visited  by  Gokul  and  Krishnu,  the  latter  of  whom  is  the 
man  who  had  dislocated  his  shoulder;  the  other  is  a  distiller, 
who  had  often  been  to  discourse  about  the  gospel,  and  ap- 
peared much  affected  some  time  ago ;  but  he  had  imbibed 
some  foolish  notions,  particularly  that  whoever  believed  in 
Christ  would  never  die ;  I  suppose  from  our  mentioning  some 
of  the  passages  in  John's  gospel,  without  explanation.  He  had 
gone  about  among  a  great  number  of  people  with  this  notion, 
and  told  us  that  many  were  ready  to  lose  caste  and  join  us.  I 
talked  with  him,  and  endeavored  to  explain  to  him  the  Scrip- 
ture doctrine,  and  confront  his  wild  ideas.  I  told  him  he  must 
surely  die,  but  that  death  was  the  gate  of  life  to  believers. 
He  was  offended,  and  went  away;  but  the  day  Krishnu's 
shoulder  was  dislocated,  we  saw  him  at  that  house.  I  then 
told  him  that  it  was  in  vain  for  him  to  wish  the  word  of  God 
altered,  for  that  was  impossible.  I  told  him  that  the  fault  lay 
in  his  own  mind,  and  not  in  the  gospel ;  that  if  ever  he  ob- 
tained gospel  blessings,  his  heart  must  be  so  changed  as  to 
correspond  w  ith  the  word ;  and  that  it  was  vain  to  expect  that 
God  or  his  word  would  alter.  He  heard  with  tears,  and  has 
since  been  repeatedly  to  our  house.  We  hope  the  word  has 
touched  his  heart ;  he  appears  more  melted  down,  and  in  a 
very  different  spirit  to  what  he  was  before.  Last  evening  they 
were  visited  by  brother  Marshman. 

'  There  is  a  college  erected  at  Fort  William,  of  which  the 
Rev.  D.  Browne  is  appointed  provost,  and  C.  Buchanan,  clas- 
sical tutor :  all  the  eastern  languages  are  to  be  taught  in  it. 

'  Dec.  5.  Yesterday  Gokul  and  Krishnu  came  to  our  house. 
I  entered  into  some  conversation  with  them ;  when  Gokul  in- 
formed us  that  his  wife  had,  the  night  before,  been  opposing 
him  to  the  utmost.  He  had,  in  the  time  that  he  kept  from  us, 
spoke  of  his  desire  to  be  a  Christian,  and  his  mother  had  left 
his  house  on  that  account.     He  now  had  told  his  wife  his 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  291 

intention  of  serving  the  Lord,  of  professing  faith  in  Christ, 
and  being  his  wholly.  She  much  opposed  him,  and  in  the 
morning  left  him,  and  went  to  live  with  her  father.  His  son, 
a  hopeful  lad,  was  determined  to  continue  with  him.  His 
observation  on  this  was,  that  he  would  not  part  with  Christ 
for  a  mountain  of  gold,  that  he  would  freely  part  with  all  for 
Christ,  and  with  tears  spoke  of  the  rich  love  of  Christ  to  him. 
At  Krishnu's  house  the  matter  appears  quite  different;  his 
wife  and  her  sister  appear  to  be  really  under  concern  of  mind 
too. 

'8.  Since  the  last  journal,  I  have  been  twice  to  Krishnu's 
house.  I  find  the  women  apparently  under  great  concern  to 
lay  hold  of  Christ.  They  told  me  that  we  had  been  the  occa- 
sion of  great  happiness  to  them  ;  for  they  had  now  found  the 
true  waj^  I  discoursed  with  them  much  upon  the  fulness  and 
work  of  Christ ;  they  all  say  that  they  are  ready  to  lose  caste 
and  all  for  Christ.  Yesterday  morning,  I  read  the  fourth 
chapter  of  John's  gospel  to  them,  and  explained  it ;  several 
neighbors  were  present,  and  heard  very  attentively.  I  told 
them  of  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  Sabbath  holy;  and  they 
all  agreed  to  abstain  from  work,  and  spend  the  day  in  holy 
exercises.  I  told  them  the  importance  of  attending  our  Ben- 
gali worship.  The  women,  not  having  been  accustomed  to  go 
out  any  where,  found  some  difficulty  in  agreeing  to  come  ;  but 
the  men  came  at  night,  and  told  us  that  the  women  would 
come  out  another  Lord's  day.  Krishnu  has  four  daughters, 
who  will  all  lose  caste  with  him.  Yesterday  being  the  first 
Sabbath  of  the  month,  I  preached  four  times,  and  administered 
the  Lord's  supper ;  viz.,  first,  an  exposition,  as  aforesaid,  at 
Krishnu's  house ;  afterwards,  I  preached  in  English,  in  the 
room  of  brother  Brunsdon,  who  is  sick  with  the  ague.  I 
preached  from  Romans  the  second  chapter  and  the  two  last 
verses,  to  a  good  congregation.  After  the  ordinance,  I  went 
out  and  preached  to  some  people  in  the  street;  and,  at  eight 
in  the  evening,  to  a  good  congregation,  Hindus,  Mussulmans, 
Portuguese,  and  Armenians,  in  the  Bengal  language.  Gokul 
told  me  of  a  religious  dream  which  he  had  a  little  time  ago. 
As  I  fear  his  mind  is  naturally  very  susceptible  of  an  enthusi- 
astic turn,  I  warned  him  against  regarding  dreams,  and  told 
him  that  Satan  would  try  to  ruin  the  faith  he  had  embraced, 


292  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

and  that  it  would  be  very  unsafe  to  deviate  at  all  from  the 
word  of  God.  It  is  as  much  as  can  be  done  now  to  feed  them 
with  the  word ;  but  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  supply  them 
with  that,  lest  the  mind  should  be  supplied  beforehand  with 
rubbish. 

'  18.  I  have  not  been  able  to  write  since  my  last  journal. 
Brother  Brunsdon  has  been  very  ill  ever  since.  He  appeared 
at  first  to  be  taken  with  a  fever.  I  administered  emetics  and 
bark,  and  the  fever  appeared  to  be  brought  under ;  but  a  con- 
tinual vomiting  and  loss  of  strength  proved  that  he  was  getting 
worse  in  other  respects.  His  fever  was  symptomatic,  and  his 
disorder  apjjears  to  be  a  violent  cold,  caught  by  standing  on 
the  floor  of  the  printing-office  without  a  mat  under  his  feet. 
We  called  in  the  Danish  physician  belonging  to  the  settlement, 
who  administered  several  remedies,  but  he  got  no  better.  A 
subsultus  tendinum  came  on,  and  appeared  very  threatening, 
when,  last  evening,  brother  Thomas  arrived.  He  consulted 
with  the  doctor,  and  he  was  afterwards  put  into  a  warm  bath. 
This  morning,  he  appears  somewhat  better.  We  are  dejected 
lest  God  should  lessen  our  number  still  more ;  but  wish  to  be 
still,  and  know  that  he  is  God.  Brother  T.  had  gone  up  with 
Fakira,  who  had  given  himself  up  to  the  church ;  but,  to  our 
great  sorrow,  is  returned  without  him.  His  heart  sunk  in  the 
hour  of  trial.  He  set  out  from  brother  Thomas's  house,  in 
Beerbhoom,  to  go  to  his  own,  but  returned  no  more  ;  and  I 
fear  there  is  no  hope  of  his  returning,  unless  God  should,  in  a 
remarkable  manner,  fill  his  conscience  with  alarm.  Gokul, 
Krjshnu,  and  the  two  women  still  give  us  much  pleasure,  but 
we  rejoice  with  fear;  so  many  disappointments  are  truly  dis- 
tressing. We  are  distressed  at  seeing  our  hopes  frustrated ; 
more  so,  lest  the  hearts  of  our  dear  friends  in  England  should 
sink ;  still  more,  to  see  so  many  souls  drop  into  hell,  refusing 
the  only  way  of  deliverance  ;  but,  most  of  all,  when  we  see  the 
dishonor  daily  cast  upon  the  name  of  Christ.  Often  the  name 
of  Christ  alone  is  sufficient  to  make  a  dozen  of  our  hearers  file 
off  at  once ;  and,  sometimes,  to  produce  the  most  vile,  blas- 
phemous, insulting  and  malicious  opposition  from  those  that 
hear  us.  We,  however,  rather  look  upon  this  as  a  token  for 
good,  for,  till  very  lately,  no  one  ever  opposed ;  they  were  too 
fast  asleep.     Two  days  ago,  brother  Marshman  and  I  went  to 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  293 

a  neighboring  village,  where  we  preached  in  two  places.  I 
had  an  attentive  congregation  in  the  market-place.  I  saw  a 
number  of  people,  and,  going  up  to  them,  told  them  I  had  good 
news  to  tell  them.  They  listened.  I  told  them  I  knew  one 
who  would  make  every  one  who  went  to  him  as  rich  as  he 
pleased.  An  old  man  said,  '  What  should  we  do  with  riches  ? 
if  I  have  God,  I  have  enough.'  Aye,  said  I,  that  is  the  riches 
I  want  to  recommend;  but  how  can  you  lay  hold  of  God? 
You  are  a  sinner ;  God  is  holy.  You  cannot  cross  the  river 
without  a  boat,  neither  can  you  go  to  God  without  a  Mediator. 
I  told  him  of  Christ — contrasted  the  sufficiency  of  Christ  with 
the  weakness  of  idols,  and  his  immaculate  life  with  the  vile 
actions  recorded  of  their  gods.  They  inquired,  "  How  could 
God  die  ?"  It  is  true,  said  I,  had  he  not  been  incarnate,  he 
could  not ;  but  he  took  flesh  for  the  purpose  of  suffering  deatli. 
This  is  a  theme  we  are  obliged  often  to  insist  on.  They  wished 
to  know  how  we  could  be  assured  that  the  Bible  was  the  Avord 
of  God.  I  told  them  of  the  purity  of  its  precepts,  the  excel- 
lency of  its  contents  in  general,  and  the  persecutions  under 
which  many,  who  were  the  writers  of  it,  had  suffered,  the  ene- 
mies it  had  had  in  every  age,  and  that  God  had  preserved  it, 
notwithstanding  all,  and  made  it  the  instrument  of  salvation  to 
many  thousands  of  sinners,  and  of  the  destruction  of  innume- 
rable idols. 

'  Dec.  22.  Gokul  and  Krishnu  have  this  day  thrown  away 
their  caste.  They  came  on  purpose  to  eat  with  us,  and,  after 
a  few  minutes  spent  in  prayer  by  me,  Krishnu,  Gokul,  and 
brother  Thomas,  they  sat  down  to  table,  and  ate  with  us  in  the 
presence  of  all.  They,  with  the  two  women,  will  come  to- 
night, to  give  in  their  experience,  and  next  Lord's  day  I  expect 
to  baptize  four  natives,  Mr.  Fernandez,  and  my  son  Felix. 
Yesterday  was  Lord's  day,  but  I  have  not  time  now  to  say 
more  than  that  it  was  a  glorious  day. 

'Half  past  ten  at  night.  I  ought  to  have  employed  an  hour 
in  revising  for  the  press,  but  cannot  refrain  from  giving  you 
an  account  of  our  church-meeting,  which  is  just  broke  up. 
About  seven  o'clock,  came  Gokul,  Krishnu,  Krishnu's  wife, 
whose  name  is  Rasu,  and  her  sister,  whose  name  is  Joymooni. 
As  soon  as  family  worship  was  over,  we  began  church-meet- 
ing. After  brother  Thomas  had  engaged  in  prayer,  my  son 
26* 


294  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

Felix  gave  an  account  of  the  work  of  God  upon  his  soul,  much 
to  tlie  satisfaction  of  all,  and  was  received.  After  him,  Gokul. 
I  wish  I  could  rememher  all  that  was  said  by  him  and  the 
others  ;  but  what  he  said  amounted  to  this ;  that,  soon  after 
we  came  to  Serampore,  he  heard  one  of  us  preach  in  the 
market-place  ;  that  the  word  struck  him  so  much,  that  he  went 
to  another  man,  whose  name  was  Bayshnub  Charon,  and  that 
they  spent  the  whole  night  in  conversation  upon  the  things 
which  they  had  heard ;  that  these  two  persons  came  to  our 
house  soon  after,  and  found  their  hearts  agree  to  many  things 
which  were  said  to  them,  and  to  dissent  from  many  others.  It 
may  not  be  improper  to  remark,  that  I  well  remember  their 
frequent  visits,  and  that  Gokul's  ideas  were  so  extravagant  on 
some  things,  that  I  had  very  little  hope  of  him.  He  was  dis- 
pleased that  the  Bible  did  not  agree  with  his  notions,  and  dis- 
continued his  visits ;  but  says  that  his  mind  was  so  uneasy, 
that  he  could  scarcely  get  sleep  for  two  months ;  that  he  saw 
himself  a  great  sinner,  and  his  heart  all  sinful ;  that  when 
Krishnu's  shoulder  was  dislocated,  what  he  heard  encouraged 
him  ;  that  he  then  looked  to  Christ,  and  has  now  no  other 
hope ;  is  willing  to  leave  all  God  forbids,  when  he  knows  it, 
and  to  do  all  that  is  commanded,  when  he  knows  it.  All  this 
he  said  with  many  tears.  After  him,  Joymooni,  the  woman 
mentioned  above.  Her  account  was,  that  she  first  heard  Gokul 
give  an  account  of  what  he  had  heard ;  that  she  immediately 
thought  herself  the  greatest  sinner  in  the  world ;  that  she  was 
rejoiced  to  hear  of  Christ  as  a  Savior;  and  when  she  heard 
him,  she  made  him  her  Asroy,  which  means  a  house  built  for 
the  refuge  of  ajogee,  who  has  forsaken  his  all;  in  a  word,  it 
may  mean  refuge  or  dwelling  in  English,  but  no  English  idea 
comes  up  to  its  full  sense.  She  answered  with  much  readi- 
ness to  every  question,  and  very  satisfactorily.  After  her, 
came  her  sister  Rasu.  Her  account  was,  that  she  first  heard 
the  account  of  the  gospel,  in  a  confused  way  to  be  sure,  from 
her  husband,  who  had  heard  brother  Fountain  ;  she  felt  herself 
a  sinner,  she  was  unhappy',  and  full  of  fear.  The  news  of  a 
Savior  gladdened  her  heart,  and  she  trusts  and  expects  all  at 
his  feet.  Krishnu  came  last  of  all.  He  first  heard  the  word 
from  brother  Fountain ;  told  Gokul  and  Bayshnub  Charon 
what  he  had  heard;  was  convinced  immediately  that  this  way 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  295 

was  so  superior  to  their  own  Shastras,  that  his  heart  was  en- 
gaged to  it,  though  he  understood  it  very  imperfectly.  He 
longed  and  kept  at  a  distance,  till  his  shoulder  was  dislocated, 
when  brother  Thomas's  discourse  penetrated  his  heart.  He 
did  once  delight  in  sin,  but  says,  like  Zaccheus,  '  I  will  not 
follow  sin  any  longer.  I  love  holiness,  and  will  follow  it.' 
They  have  all  eaten  and  drunk  with  us ;  have  lost  caste,  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  Hindus,  and  to  the  stopping  the  mouth  of 
all  gainsayers.  Thus,  God  has  begun  to  make  room  for  us, 
and  we  shall  dwell  in  the  land.  1  gave  them  many  instructions 
and  exhortations,  and  concluded  in  prayer,  they  having  been 
unanimously  and  gladly  received.  My  dear  brother,  I  wish 
you  and  another  or  two  of  our  dear  friends  could  have  taken  a 
peep  at  us,  and  participated  of  our  joy. 

'  23.  This  day,  the  whole  town  and  country  has  been  full 
of  confusion,  on  account  of  the  transactions  of  last  night. 
Krishnu  had  betrothed  his  eldest  daughter,  some  years  ago,  to 
a  lad  of  Calcutta;  but  the  time  for  her  going  to  her  husband 
being  arrived,  he  hesitated  about  sending  her  to  a  heathen, 
and  had  put  it  off  for  some  time  ;  the  girl  also  appears  to  be 
so  impressed  as  not  to  desire  to  live  with  heathens.  This  was 
made  a  pretence  to-day  for  an  assault  upon  him  and  his  fami- 
ly; and,  about  one  o'clock,  Gokul's  son  came  and  informed  us 
that  a  great  number  of  people  had  assembled,  and  dragged 
Krishnu,  his  wife,  and  daughter  to  the  judge,  who  had  ordered 
them  to  prison.  Brother  Marshman  and  I  immediately  went 
to  the  house  of  the  judge ;  but  he  not  being  at  home,  we  went 
towards  Krishnu's  house,  when  a  number'of  people  exultingly 
called  out  and  told  us  that  they  were  gone  to  prison.  We  im- 
mediately went  to  the  governor,  who  is  very  friendly,  as  are 
all  the  officers  of  the  government;  but,  on  our  way,  met  the 
three  persons,  whom  the  governor  had  ordered  to  be  set  at 
liberty.  Krishnu  turned  back  with  us,  and  we  waited  on  the 
governor,  who  informed  us  that  no  harm  should  befall  them ; 
that  if  the  girl  avowed  her  dislike  to  go  to  the  house  of  a 
heathen,  she  should  not  be  obliged  to  go  by  any  means.  We 
told  him  their  baptism  was  expected  next  Lord's  day,  and  he 
assured  us  that  he  would  protect  them  so  far  as  right  would 
go.  We  told  him  that  we  had  the  fullest  confidence  in  him, 
thanked  him,  and  took  our  leave.     However,  both  we  and  they 


296  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

were  apprehensive  that  some  mischief  might  befall  them  in 
the  night,  if  they  escaped  murder.  Brother  Ward  therefore 
wrote  to  the  governor,  requesting  a  guard  for  them,  who 
obhgingly  sent  a  seapoy  to  watch  the  whole  night.  Brother 
Marshman,  myself,  and  my  son  William,  went  to  a  village 
about  three  miles  off,  where  we  got  two  congregations  in  the 
market-place.  I  preached  to  one,  they  went  to  the  other.  I 
had  a  serious  season.  I  exhorted  them  to  forsake  their  ways 
and  trust  in  Christ.  The  news  of  the  Hindus  eating  with  us 
had  spread  everywhere, — several  asked  about  it.  This  called 
for  an  explanation  of  their  conduct ;  at  which  some  mocked, 
and  others  wondered.  After  preaching  and  prayer,  one  man 
said,  God  had  given  one  Shastra  to  them  and  another  to  us.  I 
observed,  that  these  Shastras  were  so  very  different  from  each 
other,  that  if  one  God  gave  them  both,  he  must  be  a  double- 
tongued  being,  which  was  a  very  improper  idea  of  God.  I 
told  them  some  accounts  of  the  vile  characters  of  their  gods, 
as  recorded  in  their  Shastras,  and  said,  these  cannot  be  gods. 
I  quoted  Seeb's  ignorance  of  the  churning  the  ocean,  and  the 
abuse  that  his  wife  Doorga  poured  upon  him  on  that  account. 
They  were  ashamed ;  but  I  said,  I  cannot  help  it ;  they  are  the 
words  of  your  books;  I  did  not  make  those  books.  They 
wished,  as  they  often  do,  to  see  a  sign  or  miracle,  in  confirm- 
ation of  our  mission.  I  asked  them  if  they  had  not  a  guardian 
god  to  their  town.  They  said,  '  Yes,  Punchanon.'  I  asked,  is 
he  a  wooden  one,  or  made  of  stone?  They  said, 'Who  can 
tell  Avhat  God  is  made  of? '  I  said,  what  is  the  thing  you 
worship  made  of ?  'Stone.'  Well,  if  it  is  God,  I  cannot  in- 
jure it.  Now,  if  the  people  of  the  town  will  agree  to  it,  I  will 
try  whether  he  is  God  or  not.  I  will  bring  a  large  hammer, 
and,  if  I  cannot  break  him  to  pieces,  you  are  right.  If  I  can, 
your  god  is  gone,  and  you  are  undeceived.  I  had  on  the  road 
made  a  similar  proposal,  with  respect  to  Jugguunath ;  but,  as 
he  was  a  wooden  one,  I  proposed  to  burn  him. 

'Dec.  29.  Brother  Brunsdon  is  nearly  recovered.  He  has 
been  in  great  danger;  though  he  had  but  a  slight  fever, yet  the 
putrid  symptoms  appeared,  and  the  disorder  was  very  threaten- 
ing. Brother  Thomas  arrived  when  he  was  at  the  worst,  and 
ordered  him  the  warm  bath,  which  was  of  amazing  benefit  to 
him.     Such  fevers  are  very  uncommon  in  this  country.     Poor 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  297 

brother  Thomas  has  now  been  insane  for  a  week.  I  think 
the  joy  he  experienced  in  the  prospect  of  seeing  the  baptism 
of  a  Hindu,  hastened  a  disease  to  which,  I  think,  he  is  consti- 
tutionally predisposed.  He  certainly  was  insane  at  the  time 
he  relinquished  Moypal,  but  in  a  less  degree.  Last  year  he 
had  a  more  heavy  attack,  and  now,  we  have  been  obliged  to 
confine  him  ever  since  Wednesday.  To-day,  I  have  written 
to  Mr.  Udney,  to  try  to  get  him  into  the  Calcutta  hospital  for 
lunatics. 

'Yesterday  was  a  day  of  great  joy.  I  had  the  happiness  to 
desecrate  the  Gunga,  by  baptizing  the  first  Hindu,  viz.,  Krish- 
nu,  and  my  son  Felix:  some  circumstances  turned  up  to  delay 
the  baptism  of  Gokul,  and  the  two  women.  Gokul's  wife 
came  on  Saturday  to  make  a  trial  what  could  be  done  towards 
getting  him  back;  and  the  women,  who  stood  persecution 
very  stoutly,  were  brought  to  a  state  of  hesitation,  by  the  tears 
and  entreaties  of  their  relations.  We  went  to  them  again  and 
again,  but  though  they  all  declared  themselves  steadfast  on  the 
side  of  Christ,  they  wished  to  defer  their  baptism  a  week  or 
two.  Krishnu's  coming  forward,  alone,  however,  gave  us  very 
great  pleasure,  and  his  joy  at  both  ordinances  was  very  great. 
The  river  runs  just  before  our  gate,  in  front  of  the  house,  and, 
I  think,  is  as  wide  as  the  Thames  at  Gravesend.  We  intended 
to  have  baptized  at  nine  in  the  morning ;  but,  on  account  of 
the  tide,  were  obliged  to  defer  it  till  nearly  one  o'clock,  and  it 
was  administered  just  after  the  English  preaching.  The  gov- 
ernor and  a  good  number  of  Europeans  were  present.  Broth- 
er Ward  preached  a  sermon  in  English,  from  John  v,  39: 
'  Search  the  Scriptures.'  We  then  went  to  the  water-side, 
where  I  addressed  the  people  in  Bengali ;  after  having  sung  a 
Bengali  translation  of, 

'  Jesus,  and  shall  it  ever  be,' 

and  engaging  in  prayer.  After  the  address,  I  administered  the 
ordinance,  first  to  my  son,  then  to  Krishnu.  At  half  past  four, 
I  administered  the  Lord's  supper;  and  a  time  of  real  refresh- 
ing it  was.  I  afterwards  went  with  brother  Marshman ;  we 
preached  in  the  street,  each  to  a  congregation  of  Bengalis, 
while  brother  Ward  and  Felix  went  to  Krishnu's  house.  I 
preached  in  the  evening  to  a  good  congregation  of  Hindus, 


298  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Mussulmans,  Portuguese,  Greeks,  and  Armenians.  The  Ar- 
menian priest  was  present,  but  could  not  understand,  having 
but  lately  arrived  in  the  country.  After  worship,  Krishnu 
came  to  inform  us  that  both  Gokul  and  the  women  were  again 
fully  set  to  engage  in  the  ordinance  the  first  opportunity,  which 
we  expect  in  a  Sabbath  or  two,  when  Mr.  Fernandez  has 
arrived.  Krishnu's  daughter,  a  young  person  of  thirteen,  ap- 
pears to  be  under  impressions  of  a  serious  nature. 

'  Thus,  you  see,  God  is  making  way  for  us,  and  giving  suc- 
cess to  the  word  of  his  grace  !  We  have  toiled  long,  and  have 
met  with  many  discouragements ;  but  at  last  the  Lord  has 
appeared  for  us.  May  we  have  the  true  spirit  of  nurses,  to 
train  them  up  in  the  words  of  faith  and  sound  doctrine  !  I 
have  no  fear  of  any  one,  however,  in  this  respect,  but  myself. 
I  feel  much  concerned  that  they  may  act  Avorthy  of  their  voca- 
tion, and  also,  that  they  may  be  able  to  teach  others.  I  think 
it  becomes  us  to  make  the  most  of  every  one  whom  the  Lord 
gives  us. 

'  I  add  a  few  words  on  the  cover  about  our  temporal  con- 
cerns. It  has  much  pained  me  for  a  long  time  to  think  how 
much  our  expenditure  must  exceed  your  calculations.  Yet  I 
assure  you  that  it  cannot  be  reduced.  Every  one  of  our  breth- 
ren is  very  prudent,  and  very  attentive  to  the  economy  of  the 
family ;  but  our  expenses  must  be  great,  and  at  this  time  we 
are  quite  penniless.  Drawing  is  so  difficult  and  precarious  a 
business,  that  you  can  form  no  idea  of  it.  I  hope  to  succeed 
with  two  or  three  persons.  One,  a  Mr.  Dolton,  is  going  to 
Europe,  to  return  again  immediatelj^  I  will  try  to  send  him 
to  you  or  some  minister  of  my  acquaintance.  He  was  under 
great  concern  of  soul  when  I  saw  him  at  this  time  last  year. 
I  hope  it  will  be  found  permanent.  When  he  returns,  you 
may  commit  any  parcel  to  his  care  with  the  utmost  confidence. 
We  are  sending  an  assortment  of  Hindu  gods  to  the  Bristol 
Museum,  and  some  other  curiosities  to  difterent  friends.  Do 
send  a  few  tulips,  daffodils,  snowdrops,  lilies,  and  seeds  of 
other  things,  by  Dolton,  when  he  returns,  desiring  him  not  to 
put  them  into  the  hold.  Send  the  roots  in  a  net  or  basket,  to  be 
hung  up  any  where  out  of  the  reach  of  salt  water,  and  the 
seeds  in  a  separate  small  box.  You  need  not  be  at  any  ex- 
pense ;  any  friend  will  supply  these  things.     The  cowslips  and 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  299 

daisies  of  your  fields  would  be  great  acquisitions  here.  Mr. 
Robert  Brewin,  of  Leicester,  would,  with  the  utmost  pleasure, 
send  you  an  assortment.  Our  school,  I  mean  the  English 
school  for  our  support,  promises  well  at  present ;  it  is  worth 
near  £300  a  year,  and  we  have  some  additions  already  made 
since  christmas  ;  so  that  I  hope,  we,  by  our  labor,  may  be  able 
to  lighten  the  expenses  of  the  Society,  though,  at  present,  we 
are  in  difficulties.  We  all  have  a  mind  to  work.  The  New 
Testament  is  printed  to  the  end  of  Titus,  and  I  hope  we  may 
be  able  to  send  a  few  copies  by  the  ships  which  this  goes  by. 
We  shall  immediately  begin  to  print  the  Old  Testament.  The 
whole  will  be  five  octavo  volumes.  Except  as  above  mention- 
ed, our  family  is  in  good  health. 

'  I  am,  very,  very  aflfectionately  yours, 

'  W.  Carey.' 

In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Ryland,  dated  January  3d,  1801,  Mr.  Carey 
thus  notices  the  distressing  affliction  of  Mr.  Thomas: — 

'  Poor  Mr.  Thomas  has  been  deranged,  and  we  got  him  into 
the  hospital  for  lunatics,  at  Calcutta.  He  is  better,  and  the 
doctor  has  sent  him  out  again ;  but  1  think  he  is  far  from  well.' 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'  Serampore,  April  8,  1801. 
'My  very  dear  Brother, 

'  We  are  waiting  with  considerable  anxiety  to  hear  whether 
our  dear  Society  approve  or  not  of  the  steps  we  have  taken  in 
purchasing  the  mission-house,  and  keeping  an  English  school 
for  our  support ;  of  all  which,  we  have  given  them  an  account. 
The  purchase  was  a  heavy  expense,  but  will  be  far  cheaper 
and  more  convenient  than  hiring  houses ;  and  as  the  whole 
Bible,  Old  and  New  Testament,  will  be  printed  for  nearly  the 
sum  which  it  was  supposed  it  would  require  to  print  the  New 
Testament  alone,  I  hope  our  dear  friends  will  be  able  to  an- 
swer the  bills  drawn  this  year.  We  have  a  pleasing  prospect 
that  our  school  will  soon  defray  the  current  expenses  of  the 
family.  It  increases  more  than  we  could  have  expected,  and  I 
hope  we  may  look  forward  to  some  good  fruit  being  produced 
thereby,  of  a  spiritual  kind.  Should  the  Society  send  out  any 
more  missionaries,  I  would  propose  to  them  to  have  their  eye 


300  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

upon  some  one  who  would  be  capable  and  willing  to  step  into 
the  school  in  case  of  the  death  of  brother  Marshman  ;  and  it 
will  be  necessary  that  he  be  a  pious  man,  who  would  have  been 
capable  of  managing  one  of  the  first  boarding  schools  in  Eng- 
land. Brother  Marsh  man's  industry,  and  hearty  engagement 
in  the  work,  are  such  as  have  raised  the  school  to  a  good 
degree  of  celebrity,  which  must  be  maintained.  Sister  Marsh- 
man  has,  also,  a  school  for  young  ladies,  which  rises  in  reputa- 
tion. I  hope  we  may  not  be  deprived  of  either  of  them  for 
many  years ;  but  it  would  be  well  to  provide  against  such  an 
event :  a  young  man,  thus  qualified,  especially  if  married  to  a 
woman  equally  so,  would  be  a  great  acquisition  indeed.  I 
hope  you  will  be  peculiarly  careful  respecting  the  men  you 
send  out.  They  must  be  of  mild,  accommodating  tempers,  to 
live  peaceably  in  a  common  family  like  ours ;  and  they  must 
not  only  be  such  who  appear  hearty  in  the  mission,  but  such 
who  will  not  account  it  a  hardship  to  be  subject  to  rules  in  all 
their  conduct,  and  who  will  have  no  views  of  personal  aggran- 
dizement ;  but  yet  will  labor  diligently  for  the  public  stock.  I 
believe  one  of  our  family  rules,  which  forbids  any  member  of 
our  family  to  enter  into  business  on  his  private  account,  has 
done  more  than  any  thing  towards  preserving  our  peace  ;  and 
I  hope  it  will,  in  no  instance,  ever  be  broken  in  upon.  This 
cuts  oflfall  ambitious  schemes,  and  yet  secures  industry  in  the 
body.  Perhaps  we  may  have  no  further  occasion  for  help  from 
England  at  present ;  a  circumstance  now  on  the  tapis  will 
determine  this.' 

The  circumstance  alluded  to,  is  his  connexion  with  the  col- 
lege of  Fort  William,  now  about  to  be  established  by  the 
Marquis  of  Wellesley;  the  account  of  which  being  much 
clearer  in  a  subsequent  letter,  the  notice  of  it  in  this  is  omitted. 

'  On  Friday  last,  the  faith  of  our  dear  friend  Krishnu,  and 
his  family,  was  put  to  a  severe  trial,  under  which  they  have 
acted  as  becomes  Christians  indeed.  It  is  the  custom  of  the 
Hindus  to  marry  their  children  very  young.  In  pursuance  of 
this  custom,  Krishnu's  daughter  had  been  married  some  years 
ago,  to  a  man  at  Calcutta.  The  girl,  about  thirteen  years  old, 
appeared  under  a  deep  sense  of  the  importance  of  eternal 
things,  and  when  her  husband  demanded  her,  some  time  ago, 
declared  her  dislike  to  living  with  a  heathen  ;  and  the  governor 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  301 

of  this  place,  hearing  her  disposition,  refused  to  let  him  take 
her  away.  On  Friday  last,  she  was  a  very  little  way  from  her 
father's  house,  when  she  was  seized  by  the  husband  and  some 
others,  and  violently  carried  away.  We  went  to  the  governor 
and  represented  the  matter.  He  had  been  informed  of  it  by 
the  watchmen  ;  but  they,  to  cover  their  own  negligence,  had 
reported  that  she  was  taken  from  without  the  borders  of  the 
Danish  dominions.  I  got  a  proper  officer,  and  soon  ascertained 
the  falsehood  of  the  report.  But  presently  a  report  was  spread 
that  the  girl  was  murdered  on  the  road.  The  governor  wrote 
a  letter  to  the  master  of  police  in  Calcutta,  and  I  did  the  same ; 
and  her  father  went  down,  where  he  found  her  alive  ;  and  the 
girl  deposed  before  the  magistrate,  that  she  had  voluntarily 
embraced  Christianity,  or,  in  her  own  words,  that,  hearing  of 
the  love  of  Christ,  she  had,  of  her  own  accord,  given  herself 
up  to  him.  While  I  am  writing,  a  very  polite  letter  is  come 
in  from  the  master  of  the  police  at  Calcutta,  informing  me  that 
he  has  taken  every  method  in  his  power  to  secure  to  the  young 
woman  the  free  exercise  of  her  religion,  but  that  a  change  of 
religion  cannot  dissolve  the  marriage-union.  I  perfectly  coin- 
cide with  this  opinion,  and  have  been  inculcating  it  on  the 
whole  family  from  the  first  day  that  the  girl  was  carried  off, 
and  I  hope  not  without  success,  though  Krishnu  appears  very 
disconsolate,  I  say,  who  can  tell  but  her  going  thither  may 
prove  the  salvation  of  some  in  that  family?  I  shall  certainly 
ask  the  master  of  the  police  for  leave  to  visit  and  strengthen 
her. 

'I  have  given  a  number  of  letters,  from  Mr.  Gericke  to  me, 
to  brother  Marshman,  that  he  may  get  them  copied  in  the 
school.  They  will  do  you  good,  and  show  you  much  of  the. 
state  of  religion  on  the  coast ;  but  I  almost  fear  they  will  not 
be  ready  to  accompany  this.  I  think  you  should  not  print  his- 
letters  as  letters  from  him  to  me,  but  rather  throw  them  into 
another  form,  as  articles  of  intelligence  from  me  respecting 
that  riiission :  it  may  hurt  his  feelings  to  see  private  letters  to 
me  printed.  Mr.  Edmonds,  from  the  Cape,  is  arrived,  and  was 
at  our  house  yesterday  ;  we  told  him  that  we  could  not  receive 
him  as  a  missionary  unless  he  had  proper  credentials,  but  we 
must  treat  him  as  a  Christian. 

'  Yours,  very  affectionately,  W.  Carey.' 

27 


302  memoir  of  dr.  caret. 

Mr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Rtland. 

'  Serampore,  June  15,  1801. 
'My  very  dear  Brother, 

'Yesterday  I  received  yours  of  January  3d,  by  the  hand  of 
Mr.  Short,  who  very  unexpectedly  arrived  here.  I  was  aston- 
ished to  see  him,  yet  gratified.  I  do  not  know  the  reason  of 
his  coming,  but  suspect  that  he  finds  it  difficult  to  live  in  Eng- 
land. He  went  down  to  Calcutta  to-day,  so  that  1  have  yet 
had  scarcely  any  opportunity  for  conversation.  He  is  tolerably 
well. 

'  I  am  delighted  with  the  life  of  dear  brother  Pearce  ;  but 
never  was  I  so  ashamed  of  myself.  O  my  dear  brother,  I 
really  think  that  I  never  had  any  thing  in  me  worth  calling 
either  love  to  God  or  love  to  man  !  I  appear  to  myself  to  have 
never  possessed  concern  for  the  heathen,  tenderness  of  con- 
science, faith,  zeal,  or  any  thing  worth  calling  a  Christian 
grace  !  I  am  humbled  and  astonished  !  God  is  as  ready  and 
willing  to  communicate  to  me,  as  to  him  ;  my  wants  are  greater 
than  his,  because  my  heart  appears  to  be  naturally  more  unim- 
pressible  ;  and  yet  1  am  placed  in  a  situation  which  needs 
incomparably  a  greater  share  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  than  any 
situation  in  England  can  do. 

'  I  know  you  will  sympathize  with  me,  and  pray  for  me,  when 
you  read  this  :  and  I  wish  I  had  a  heart  to  pray  more  for  my- 
self Providence  appears  to  put  me  in  such  situations  as 
require  the  greatest  abilities,  the  maturest  judgment,  and  the 
most  patient  and  persevering  spirit.  You  have,  I  trust,  heard 
before  now  that  God  has  given  us  some  from  among  the  hea- 
then, and  some  from  among  Europeans  and  others.  We 
have  baptized,  since  the  last  day  of  December,  five  Hindus, 
the  last  of  whom,  a  man  whose  name  is  Gokul,  was  baptized 
June  7th.  We  hope  for  another  or  two.  These  give  us  much 
pleasure.  Yet  we  need  great  prudence,  for  they  are  but  a 
larger  sort  of  children,  compared  with  Europeans :  we  are 
obliged  to  encourage,  to  strengthen,  to  counteract,  to  advise, 
to  disapprove,  to  teach ;  and  yet,  to  do  all  so  as  to  retain  their 
warm  affections. 

'  The  manner  in  which  our  Hindu  friends  recommend  the 
gospel  to  others  is  very  pleasing.     They  speak  of  the  love  of 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  303 

Christ  in  sufFering  and  dying,  and  this  appears  to  be  all  in  all 
with  them.  Their  conversation  with  others  is  somewhat  like 
the  following.  A  man  says,  '  Well,  Krishnu,  you  have  left  off 
all  the  customs  of  your  ancestors ;  what  is  the  reason  ?' 
Krishnu  says, '  Only  have  patience,  and  I  will  inform  you.  I 
am  a  great  sinner.  I  tried  the  Hindu  worship,  but  got  no 
good :  after  a  while,  I  heard  of  Christ,  that  he  was  incarnate, 
labored  much,  and  at  last  laid  down  his  life  for  sinners.  I 
thought.  What  love  is  this!  And  here  T  made  my  resting 
place.  Now  say,  if  any  thing  like  this  love  was  ever  shown 
by  any  of  your  gods  ?  Did  Doorga,  or  Kalee,  or  Krishnu,  die 
for  sinners .?  You  know  that  they  only  sought  their  own  ease, 
and  had  no  love  for  any  one.'  This  is  the  simple  way  in  which 
they  confront  others ;  and  none  can  answer  except  by  railing, 
which  they  bear  patiently,  and  glory  in. 

'  We  sent  you,  some  time  ago,  a  box,  full  of  gods  and  butter- 
flies, &c.,  and  another  box,  containing  a  hundred  copies  of  the 
New  Testament  in  Bengali.  These  boxes  were  sent  to  the 
ships,  bills  of  lading  obtained,  &c. ;  but  afterwards  were  re- 
turned, with  two  sloop-loads  of  goods,  for  want  of  room.  Mr. 
McClintock,  the  gentleman  who  kindly  undertook  to  ship  them, 
informed  me  that  the  idols  were  gone  on  board  another  ship 
about  a  fortnight  ago,  and  he  expected  to  get  the  books  aboard  in 
a  few  days  more  ;  so  that  I  hope  they  will  soon  arrive  in  England. 
I  believe  they  are  in  the  Georgiana  packet,  but  cannot  be  sure. 
Poor  Mrs.  Buchanan,  a  precious,  godly  woman,  is  going  home, 
I  believe,  in  the  same  ship,  in  a  consumption. 

'  1  hope  my  friend,  Mr.  Webb,  is  safely  arrived  in  England. 
Give  my  affectionate  Christian  love  to  him.  Mr.  Cunninghame 
is  just  appointed  salt  inspector,  either  at  Sulkee,  just  opposite 
Calcutta,  or  on  the  circuit  under  the  Ramgur  Hills.  I  saw 
him  last  week,  but  it  was  not  determined.  Mr.  Lang  is  study- 
ing Bengali,  under  me,  in  the  college. 

'What  I  have  last  mentioned  requires  some  explanation, 
though  you  will  probably  hear  of  it  before  this  reaches  you. 
You  must  know,  then,  that  a  college  was  founded,  last  year,  in 
Fort  William,  for  the  instruction  of  the  junior  civil  servants 
of  the  Company,  who  are  obliged  to  study  in  it  three  years 
after  their  arrival.  I  always  highly  approved  of  the  institution, 
but  never  entertained  a  thought  that  I  should  be  called   to 


304  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

fill  a  Station  in  it.  The  Rev.  D.  Brown  is  provost,  and  the 
Rev.  Claudius  Buchanan,  vice-provost;  and,  to  my  great  sur- 
prise, I  was  asked  to  undertake  the  Bengali  professorship. 
One  morning,  a  letter  from  Mr.  Brown  came,  inviting  me  to 
cross  the  water,  to  have  some  conversation  with  him  upon  this 
subject.  I  had  but  just  time  to  call  our  brethren  together,  who 
were  of  opinion  that,  for  several  reasons,  I  ought  to  accept  it, 
provided  it  did  not  interfere  with  the  work  of  the  mission.  I 
also  knew  myself  to  be  incapable  of  filling  such  a  station  with 
reputation  and  propriety.  I,  however,  went  over,  and  honestly 
proposed  all  my  fears  and  objections.  Both  Mr.  Brown  and 
Mr.  Buchanan  Avere  of  opinion  that  the  cause  of  the  mission 
would  be  furthered  by  it;  and  I  was  not  able  to  reply  to  their 
arguments.  I  was  convinced  that  it  might.  As  to  my  abil- 
ity, they  could  not  satisfy  me  ;  but  they  insisted  upon  it  that 
they  must  be  the  judges  of  that.  I  therefore  consented,  with 
fear  and  trembling.  They  pro})osed  me  that  day,  or  the  next, 
to  the  governor-general,  who  is  patron  and  visiter  of  the  col- 
lege. They  told  him  that  I  had  been  a  missionary  in  the 
country  for  seven  years  or  more ;  and  as  a  missionary,  I  was 
appointed  to  the  office.  A  clause  had  been  inserted  in  the 
statutes,  to  accommodate  those  who  are  not  of  the  chmxh  of 
England  (for  all  professors  are  to  take  certain  oaths,  and  make 
declarations) ;  but  for  the  accommodation  of  such,  two  other 
names  were  inserted,  viz.,  lecturers  and  teachers,  who  are  not 
included  under  that  obligation.  When  I  was  proposed,  his 
lordship  asked  if  I  was  well  affected  to  the  state,  and  capable 
of  fulfilling  the  duties  of  the  station ;  to  which  Mr.  B.  replied, 
that  he  should  never  have  proposed  me,  if  he  had  had  the 
smallest  doubt  on  those  heads.  I  wonder  how  people  can 
have  such  favorable  ideas  of  me.  I  certainly  am  not  disaffect- 
ed to  the  state  ;  but  the  other  is  not  clear  to  me.  When  the 
appointment  was  made,  I  saw  that  I  had  a  very  important 
charge  committed  to  me,  and  no  books  or  helps  of  any  kind  to 
assist  me.  I  therefore  set  about  compiling  a  grammar,  which 
is  now  half  printed.  I  got  Ram  Boshu  to  compose  a  history 
of  one  of  their  kings,  the  first  prose  book  ever  written  in  the 
Bengali  language ;  which  we  are  also  printing.  Our  pundit 
has,  also,  nearly  translated  the  Sanscrit  fables,  one  or  two  of 
which  brother  Thomas  sent  you,  which  we  are  also  going  to 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  305 

publish.  These,  with  Mr.  Foster's  vocabulary,  will  prepare 
the  way  to  reading  their  poetical  books ;  so  that  I  ho])e  this 
difficulty  will  be  gotten  through.  But  my  ignorance  of  the 
way  of  conducting  collegiate  exercises  is  a  great  weight  upon 
my  mind.  I  have  thirteen  students  in  my  class;  I  lecture 
twice  a  week,  and  have  nearly  gone  through  one  term,  not 
quite  two  months  It  began  May  4th.  Most  of  the  students 
have  gotten  through  the  accidence,  and  some  have  began  to 
translate  Bengali  into  English.  The  examination  begins  this 
week.  I  am  also  appointed  teacher  of  the  vSanscrit  language  ; 
and  though  no  students  have  yet  entered  in  that  class,  yet  I 
must  prepare  for  it.  I  am,  therefore,  writing  a  grammar  of 
that  language,  which  I  must  also  print,  if  I  should  be  able  to 
get  through  with  it,  and  perhaps  a  dictionary,  Vv'hich  I  began 
some  years  ago.  I  say  all  this,  my  dear  brother,  to  induce  you 
to  give  me  your  advice  about  the  best  manner  of  conductin:^ 
myself  in  this  station,  and  to  induce  you  to  pray  much  for  n^e, 
that  God  may,  in  all  things,  be  glorified  by  me.  We  presented 
a  copy  of  the  Bengali  New  Testament  to  Lord  Wellesley, 
after  the  appointment,  through  the  medium  of  the  Rev.  D. 
Brown,  which  was  graciously  received.  We  also  presented 
governor  Bie  with  one. 

'  Serampore  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  English.  It  was 
taken  while  we  were  in  bed  and  asleep ;  you  may  therefore 
suppose  that  it  was  done  without  bloodshed.  You  may  be 
perfectl}^  easy  about  us:  we  are  equally  secure  under  the  Eng- 
lish or  Danish  government,  and,  I  am  sure,  well  disposed  to 
both. 

'Our  church  now  consists  of  sixteen  members.  My  eldest 
son  was  baptized  the  last  day  of  December.  I  believe  my 
second  son  is  converted  to  God,  and  I  have  much  to  praise 
God  for  on  their  behalf  Mr.  Fernandez  was  baptized  some 
time  ago ;  his  son  is  with  us,  and,  I  hope,  is  seeking  God.  I 
have  no  doubt  of  the  conversion  of  a  German  lady,  who  came 
hither  for  her  health;  her  name  is  Miss  Rumohr,  from  the 
duchy  of  Sleswick,  of  great  part  of  which  her  father  was 
proprietor,  and  a  nobleman.  Hers,  however,  is  true  nobility 
She  speaks  French  fluently,  but  wished  to  learn  English.  The 
governor  asked  me  to  give  her,  now  and  then,  a  lesson. 
27* 


306  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY. 

agreed,  and  have  reason  to  believe  that  my  visits  have  been 
blessed.  We  hope  there  were  ten  conversions  in  Bengal,  the 
last  year. 

'  W.  Carey.' 


SECTION   II. 


VARIOUS  CIRCUMSTANCES,  IN  LETTERS  TO  HIS    SISTERS TO  MR. 

FULLER  AND    MR.  SUTCLIFF BAPTISMAL    CONTROVERSY AD- 
VANCEMENT OF  THE  WORK  AMONG    THE    HEATHEN ALLUSION 

TO    SANSCRIT     ORATION REMARKS     ON     NATIVE    LABORERS 

OPPOSITION  FROM  GOVERNMENT. 

The  life  and  labors  of  Mr.  Carey  were  at  this  time  so  identi- 
fied with  those  of  his  brethren,  that  they  could  scarcely  be 
described  otherwise  than  in  combination. 

'  Serampore,  Aov.,  1801. 
*Mt  DEAR  Sisters, 

'  We  now  form  a  public  family ;  and  we  have  been  blessed 
with  outward  things  far  beyond  what  any  one  of  us  ever  ex- 
pected. Yet  we  have  no  private  property ;  and  it  is  happy 
that  we  have  not,  as  I  believe  the  existence  of  the  mission 
depends,  in  a  very  great  degree,  on  our  never  engaging  in  pri- 
vate trade,  or  any  thing  which  shall  divide  us  from  the  com- 
mon families  of  missionaries. 

'Hitherto  the  Lord  has  helped  me.  I  have  lived  to  see  the 
Bible  translated  into  Bengali,  and  the  whole  New  Testament 
printed.     The  first  volume  of  the  Old  Testament  will  also 


MEMOIR    OF    BR.  CAREY.  307 

soon  appear.  I  have  lived  to  see  two  of  my  sons  converted, 
and  one  of  them  join  the  chm-ch  of  Christ.  ]  have  lived  to 
baptize  five  native  Hindus,  and  to  see  a  sixth  baptized ;  and  to 
see  them  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  for  twelve  months  since 
they  first  made  a  profession  of  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
I  have  lived  to  see  the  temporal  concerns  of  the  mission  in  a 
state  far  beyond  my  expectation,  so  that  we  have  now  two 
good  houses  contiguous  to  each  other,  with  two  thousand 
pounds ;  a  flourishing  school ;  the  favor  of  both  the  Danish 
and  English  governments ;  and,  in  short,  the  mission  almost 
in  a  state  of  ability  to  maintain  itself.  Having  seen  all  this,  I 
sometimes  am  almost  ready  to  say,  'Lord, now  lettest  thou  thy 
servant  depart  in  peace,  according  to  thy  word ;  for  mine  eyes 
have  seen  thy  salvation.' 

'Moreover,  I  have  outlived  four  of  my  brethren,  Mr.  Grant, 
Mr.  Fountain,  Mr.  Brunsdon,  and,  last  of  all,  Mr.  Thomas,  who 
died  October  13th  last.  I  know  not  why  so  fruitless  a  tree  is 
preserved ;  but  the  Lord  is  too  wise  to  err. 

'  We  live  in  the  most  desirable  love  with  one  another,  and, 
I  think,  are  of  one  heart  and  one  soul  in  the  work.  I  must 
leave  off.  Mr.  Short,  I  fear,  cannot  live  long.  Mrs.  Cai-ey  is 
obliged  to  be  constantly  confined ;  she  has  long  gotten  worse 
and  worse,  but  fear  both  of  my  own  life  and  hers,  and  the 
desire  of  the  police  of  the  place,  obliged  me  to  agree  to  her 
confinement.  Your  affectionate  brother, 

'  W.  Carey.' 

<  CalcuUa,  Dec.  2,  1802. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'I  have  an  opportunity  to  write  by  the  Walthamstow,  which 
I  must  not  let  slip  ;  especially  as  a  very  pious  and  intimate 
friend  is  returning  to  Europe  by  her,  who  will  take  charge  of 
the  letters.  He,  however,  will  go  to  Glasgow,  so  that  you  will 
not  see  him.  I  am  exceedingly  sorry  for  his  removal,  though 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  leadings  of  Providence  are  clear  for 
it,  and  I  also  trust  that  he  will  be  very  useful  at  home.  He 
has  not  left  his  like,  in  every  respect,  in  India;  though  we 
have  a  goodly  number  of  them  who  fear  God,  and  I  trust  that 
that  number  is  gradually  increasing.  There  are  few  places  in 
foreign  settlements  blessed  like  Calcutta,  where  we  have  two 


308  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

evangelical  clergymen,  Mr.  Brown  and  Mr.  Buchanan.  I  have 
the  pleasure  of  being  intimately  acquainted  with  them  both, 
and  I  believe  you  will  not  find  many  in  England  who  have  less 
bigotry  and  more  friendship. 

'I  shall  give  you  a  little  account  of  Calcutta;  perhaps  it  may 
be  gratifying  to  you  or  to  some  one  else.  It  is  a  large  city, 
between  three  and  four  miles  in  length,  and  about  one  mile  in 
breadth,  at  a  medium.  The  south  part,  for  about  one  fourth 
of  the  length,  is  inhabited  by  Europeans,  Portuguese,  and 
Armenians,  with  a  few  Chinese.  The  remaining  part  of  the 
town  is  inhabited  by  the  different  castes  of  Hindus,  and  by 
Mussulmans.  The  river  Hoogly,  in  the  western  branch  of  the 
Delta  of  the  Ganges,  runs  close  to  the  west  side  of  the  town. 
It  is  about  half  a  mile  wide,  and  ships  come  up  to  the  town  in 
great  numbers,  and  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  On  the  south 
end  of  the  town  is  a  large  plain  called  the  Esplanade,  a  mile 
wide,  and  a  mile  and  a  half  or  more  long,  lying  by  the  river 
side,  where  is  a  beautiful  walk,  with  trees  planted  on  each 
side  down  to  Fort  William.  I  cannot  describe  the  Fort; 
suffice  to  say  that  it  is  accounted  one  of  the  most  complete  in 
the  world:  it  is  at  least  half  a  mile  through  it,  and  I  suppose 
no  ship  could  pass  it  without  certain  destruction  from  the 
guns. 

'  The  trade  of  Calcutta  is  very  great :  goods  from  every  part 
of  Bengal,  Oude,  and  the  more  remote  western  provinces,  are 
brought  down  the  numerous  rivers  in  great  abundance ;  and 
the  export  trade  to  all  countries  is  very  large.  The  govern- 
ment house  is  scarcely  finished.  It  is  a  very  elegant  and  large 
building,  which  I  cannot  describe,  my  taste  not  being  in  that 
line.  There  are  two  Protestant  churches,  where  the  gospel  is 
preached  in  its  purity ;  one  the  presidency  church,  the  other 
the  mission  church,  built  some  years  ago  by  Mr.  Kiernander, 
a  German  missionary ;  it  is  now  private  property,  I  believe : 
also  a  Portuguese  and  an  Armenian  church.  The  college  is 
the  next  institution  of  public  utility.  There  is  no  building 
erected  for  it,  but  a  number  of  houses  are  rented  by  govern- 
ment for  the  purpose.  It  contains  a  common  hall,  lecture 
rooms,  where  the  Arabic,  Persian,  Sanscrit,  Bengali,  Hindosta- 
ni,  Tamul,  and  the  modern  languages  of  Europe,  are  taught; 
and    lectures    on    philosophy,   chemistry,  and   the    arts    are 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  309 

delivered.  There  are  chambers  for  the  different  officers,  and 
a  good  library,  which  will,  no  doubt,  much  increase,  if  the 
institution  be  continued.  This  bids  fair  to  be  of  the  most  es- 
sential benefit  to  the  country,  by  furnishing  the  Company's 
servants  with  a  knowledge  of  the  languages  and  manners  of 
India.  Their  characters  and  abilities  are  also  known  to  gov- 
ernment, before  they  are  appointed  to  any  office. 

'  The  characters  of  the  people  in  this  place  are  various,  and 
their  dress,  manners,  &c.,  form  the  most  motley  picture  that 
can  be  imagined.  You  see  at  once  Europeans  in  elegant  car- 
riages drawn  by  fine  horses,  and  attended  by  numerous  ser- 
vants ;  children  in  carriages  drawn  by  bullocks ;  Mussulmans 
in  old  tattered  coaches  or  indescribable  carts,  made  with  bam- 
boos, covered  with  red  curtains,  and  drawn  by  horses  which 
can  scarcely  stand  upright;  all  sorts  of  palanquins,  a  sort  of 
sedan,  carried  on  fom*  or  six  men's  shoulders,  but  of  many 
varieties;  carts,  of  a  wonderful  construction,  made  with  a 
stage  of  bamboos,  mounted  on  two  most  singular  wheels, 
without  the  sides  being  raised  up,  and  drawn  by  two  oxen. 
On  foot,  Europeans  of  different  nations,  Armenians,  Portu- 
guese, Chinese,  Mussulmans,  and  Hindus,  all  in  the  dresses  of 
their  respective  nations,  some  of  the  poor  with  scarcely  any 
dress  at  all,  and  all  speaking  the  languages  of  their  own  coun- 
tries, though  most  of  them  speak  also  Bengali  or  Hindostani. 

'There  are  a  few  real  Christians.  Some,  who  profess  a 
love  to  God,  are  too  conformable  to  the  world ;  and,  among 
them,  some,  who,  for  many  years,  stood  firm  in  the  ways  of 
God.  Deism  is  the  fashionable  profession  of  Europeans. 
The  Armenians  are  fond  of  imitating  the  English  in  show  and 
inattention  to  all  religion,  though  they  are  of  the  Greek  church, 
and  have  the  Bible  in  their  language.  The  Portuguese  are 
Catholics,  a  few  excepted.  They  are  the  most  debased  and 
despised  of  any  people  in  Calcutta,  though  I  hope  the  Lord 
will  carry  on  a  work  among  them.  I  preach  at  the  house  of 
one  of  them,  a  pious  young  man,  every  Thursday  evening,  to 
a  few  persons.  The  utmost  profligacy  of  manners  prevails 
both  among  natives  and  others.  Europeans  have  their  work 
carried  on,  their  assemblies  and  routs,  on  the  Lord's  day  the 
same  as  on  another  day ;  and  a  man,  when  he  arrives  in  India, 


310  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

shows  what  he  would  have  been  in  England,  if  there  had  been 
no  restraint. 

'I  should  say  something  about  the  mission,  but  my  paper 
is  spent,  and  it  is  nearly  twelve  o'clock  at  night.  We  are  all 
well.  One  of  our  Hindu  friends  was  murdered  a  little  time 
agO;  one  excluded,  and  one  suspended.  I  have  some  hope  of 
him  who  is  excluded.  One  we  have  sent  to  instruct  his  coun- 
trymen at  a  distance,  though  he  is  not  in  the  ministry  yet.  We 
wish  to  send  another,  in  like  manner,  but  do  not  think  it  proper 
yet.  Notwithstanding  the  distressing  circumstances  men- 
tioned above,  I  think  the  aspect  of  the  mission  to  be  very 
encouraging. 

*  Affectionately,  W.  Carey.' 


Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 
*My  dear  Brother, 


Sept  7,  1803. 


'  I  may  mention  a  thing  which  I  have  long  designed,  but,  for 
want  of  funds,  have  never  been  able  to  accomplish.  I  suppose 
the  expense  of  doing  it  might  be  thirty  rupees  per  month.  I 
have  always  had  a  strong  turn  for  natural  history,  and  know 
nothing  more  fit  to  relax  the  mind  after  close  application  to 
other  things.  I  have  long  wished  to  employ  a  person  to  paint 
the  natural  history  of  India,  the  vegetable  productions  except- 
ed, which  Dr.  Roxburg  has  been  about  for  several  years. 
The  birds,  insects,  lizards,  fishes,  and  serpents,  (many  of  the 
last  have  been  drawn  by  Dr.  Buchanan  and  Dr.  Russel,  with 
descriptions)  would  be  amusing,  would  take  little  time,  and 
might  be  of  use.  I  could  do  it  for  that  sum,  and  indeed  intend 
to  employ  my  own  little  property  for  that  purpose,  as  soon  as 
it  can  be  spared  from  the  fiimily. 

'The  Lord  still  smiles  upon  us.  I  some  time  ago  baptized 
three  natives  and  my  son  William.  Our  number  of  baptized 
natives  is  now  twenty-five,  and  the  whole  number  of  church 
members  thirty-nine.  I  was  greatly  pleased  with  a  small  ex- 
cursion which  I  made,  some  little  time  ago,  in  Jessore.  I  hope 
there  is  the  foundation  of  a  work  in  those  parts.  We  have 
now  begun  to  print  the  second  edition  of  the  New  Testament, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  311 

and  are  about  to  publish  some  of  our  little  pamphlets  in  the 
Hindostani  language.  Dear  Pearce's  address  to  the  Lascars 
is  put  into  that  language.  We  have  also  some  thoughts  of  the 
Mahrattas.  A  Mahratta  pundit,  whom  we  Jiave  retained,  has 
made  a  beginning  of  some  small  portions  of  the  Scripture  in 
that  language,  and  the  Devnagur  letter  will  answer  for  that 
tongue  and  the  Hiiidostan  as  well  as  the  Sanscrit. 

'  Affectionately  yours,  Wm.  Carey.' 

Mr.  Caret  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'  Calcidta,  Sept.  21,  1803 
'  3It  dear  Brother, 

'  I  see  that  I  have  inadvertently  written  some  things  to  Eng- 
land which  savor  strongly  of  vanity,  and  which,  when  they 
have  been  printed,  have  made  me  wish  they  had  never  been 
written.  I  am  not  conscious  of  having  felt  the  workings  of 
vanity  when  writing  them,  and  believe  that  the  sentiments 
were  what  la}'  uppermost  at  the  moment  of  writing;  but  I 
wish  they  had  not  been  published,  at  least  in  their  present 
form. 

'  3Iy  time  is  so  much  occupied  with  the  second  edition  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  the  remaining  part  of  the  Old,  that, 
together  with  my  other  necessary  avocations,  the  whole  is 
completely  engrossed,  and  my  mind  has  acquired  so  much 
bias  towards  seeking  out  words,  phrases,  and  idioms  of  speech, 
that  it  is  nearly  unprepared  for  any  other  undertaking,  and  I 
feel  that  there  is  a  possibility  of  having  the  mind  secularized 
whilst  employed  on  Bible  criticisms.  This,  however,  is  an 
absolutely  necessaiy  work,  and  cannot  be  done  without  much 
repeated  and  close  attention,  and  frequent  revision.  I  there- 
fore comfort  myself  with  the  thought  that  I  am  in  the  work  of 
the  Lord.  The  alterations  in  the  second  edition  are  great  and 
numerous  :  not  so  much,  however,  in  what  relates  to  meaning 
as  construction.  I  hope  it  will  be  tolerably  correct,  as  every 
proof-sheet  is  carefully  revised  by  us  all,  compared  as  exactly 
with  the  Greek  as  brother  Marshman  and  myself  are  capable 
of  doing,  subjected  to  the  opinion  and  animadversion  of  sev- 
eral pundits,  and  some  of  it  translated  by  a  native  into  a  collat- 


312  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

eral  language  of  which  we  can  form  some  idea,  before  it  is 
printed  off. 

'  Somebody,  I  think  Morris,  observed  that  Rowland  Hill 
rather  exulted  in  the  thought  that  we  had  rendered  ^artTi^o) 
by  a  word  signifying  to  drown.  We,  however,  have  not 
thought  proper  to  alter  it  in  the  second  edition,  even  after  the 
most  close  investigation  which  we  can  make.  There  are 
several  words  which  we  have  chosen  from,  thus  ^^^J*? 
bathing ;  but  this  may  be  performed  by  pouring  water  all  over 
the  body  as  well  as  by  immersion  in  it.  ^SiX^^T^'^^ ,  an 
immersion  and  immediate  emersion.  This  was  a  plausible 
word,  but  1  do  not  find  that  the  Greek  word  has  any  idea  of 
emersion  belonging  to  it.  I  suppose  it  simply  means  to  im- 
merse, and  that  the  emersion  is  a  consequent  and  separate  act. 
m^iT^  "^i^^hcT^  ^^^  ^^?  wl"<^l^  «i»"^fy  immersion, 
and  sfSTT?  the  term  which  we  have  used,  and  which  means 
the  same.  We  have  preferred  this,  because  it  is  the  most 
common.  In  its  simple  form  it  means  an  immersing.  A<\ 
immersion,  its  derivative,  is  compounded  with  (Ij^oT  ^^  8'^^^j 
and  we  very  frequently  hear  a  mother  use  it  to  her  child,  when 
bathing  in  the  river ;  thus,  *J^  (Vf3  immerse  yourself,  but 
she  certainly  does  not  mean  drown  yourself  q7\  Q^  o^Jci, 
the  causal,  is  to  immerse  another  person,  or  dip  him.  5^  JTT^ld 

is  to  dive,  and  "^t^ST  JJPJ^  is  to  drown,  viz.,  literally  im- 
mersing to  kill.  Indeed, 'none  of  our  friends,  nor  any  new 
comers,  are  ever  afraid  of  being  drowned,  which  they  might 
well  be,  if  the  word  had  such  a  meaning.  We  are,  however, 
much  obliged  by  his  doubt,  or  whatever  you  may  call  it ;  it 
has  occasioned  us  to  examine  the  matter  much  more  closely 
than  before,  and  has  confirmed  us  in  the  opinion,  that,  like  im- 
mersion, it  never  means  to  drown,  except  as  a  consequence, 
which  must  follow,  if  the  person  or  thing  remain  immersed. 
There  are  many  other  words  which  we  see  occasion  to  alter, 
and  I  hope  we  shall  rejoice  in  any  hint  from  any  one  on  a 
subject  so  important. 

'The  Lord  has  blessed  us  with  twenty-five  native  church 
members,  who  are  all  baptized  on  a  profession  of  their  faith. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY.  31.3 

They  do  not  all  afford  us  equal  pleasure,  and  we  have  been 
under  the  necessity  of  suspending  some  from  communion  for 
a  time.  Yet,  with  all  their  imperfections,  they  are  our  glory 
and  joy.  We  have  hope  of  one  or  two  more ;  and,  though 
things  have  not  been  so  lively  for  these  three  months  past  as 
for  some  time  before,  yet  we  are  not  quite  left.  I  hope  the 
school,  which  is  set  up  for  the  benefit  of  the  natives,  will  not 
be  in  vain.  It  has  had  much  to  struggle  with,  but  has  existed 
and  rather  increased  hitherto,  and  a  degree  of  gospel  knowl- 
edge has  been  communicated  thereb}^  Our  boarding-school, 
for  the  support  of  the  mission,  I  esteem  as  one  of  the  most 
essential  parts  of  the  mission  itself  It  now  consists  of  thirty- 
five  scholars,  most  of  whom,  if  not  all,  may  be  expected  to 
spend  their  days  in  India,  to  all  of  whom  the  Bengali  or  Hin- 
dostani  language  is  vernacular,  and  some  of  whom  we  may 
expect  to  be  converted,  according  to  the  common  course  of 
providence. 

'  Of  literary  productions  I  have  but  little  to  say.  I  believe 
all  our  brethren  make  memoranda  of  whatever  appears  re- 
markable in  either  reading  or  common  life ;  but  the  difliculty 
of  obtaining  accurate  information,  or  of  obtaining  Hindu 
books,  is  very  great,  and  that  of  reading  them  still  greater.  I 
am  reprinting  my  Bengali  grammar,  with  many  alterations  and 
additions.  There  are  now  four  hundred  and  thirty-two  pages 
of  the  Sanscrit  grammar  (large  quarto)  printed  off.  I  expect 
that  there  will  be  nearly  as  much  more. 

'  W.  Carey.' 

As  this  is  the  first  time  in  progress  of  the  memoir  in  which 
the  subject  of  the  baptismal  controversy  occurs,  it  may  be 
allowable  to  accompany  it  with  a  few  remarks.  It  was  to  be 
apprehended,  that  between  the  denomination  to  which  Mr. 
Carey  pertained,  and  other  communities,  some  degree  of  col- 
lision, in  the  course  of  their  missionary  labors,  would  be  una- 
voidable. When  the  question  at  issue  is  not  speculative  and 
sentimental,  nor  one  of  ecclesiastical  polity,  but  of  positive 
obedience,  initiatory  to  the  Christian  profession ;  and,  as  the 
controversy  embraces  both  the  subject  and  the  mode  of  the 
ordinance  in  question,  there  was  no  possibility  of  escaping  the 
diflSculty ;  nor  was  any  honorable  course  open  to  either  party, 
28 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

but  that  of  permitting  the  other,  both  in  preaching  and  in  or- 
ganizing churches,  to  follow  out  their  own  conviction  of  truth 
and  duty,  and  in  the  solemn  work  of  translation,  to  give  a 
simple  and  faithful  version,  without  hesitation  and  without 
compromise. 

In  this  work  the  controversy  is,  of  course,  of  verbal  interest 
only,  and,  as  far  as  the  conduct  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir  is 
concerned,  may  be  expressed  within  the  compass  of  a  few 
lines.  He  felt  convinced  that  the  divine  writers  employ  Greek 
words  upon  this  subject,  signifying  to  immerse,  and  immersion. 
He  found  also  that  the  greatest  number,  and  they  too  the  most 
profound,  of  biblical  critics,  candidly  lend  their  suffrages  to 
this  interpretation.  Thirdly,  he  conducted  his  labors  under 
the  solenm  conviction  that  every  part  of  the  word  of  God 
should  be  translated  unequivocally.  That,  in  a  positive  insti- 
tute, it  seemed  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  divine  Lawgiver 
would  choose  words  of  explicit  import,  to  be  applied  in  their 
simple,  primary,  and  literal  sense ;  and  that,  if  words  fairly 
corresponding  to  them  existed  in  the  language  into  which  a 
translation  was  making,  it  was  incumbent  upon  a  translator  to 
adopt  them.  That  it  would  not  be  wise  to  perpetuate  a  mere 
barbarism  in  other  languages,  because  it  is  so  done  in  our 
English  version  ;  nor  did  he  deem  it  religious  to  choose  any 
word  of  intermediate  and  ambiguous  meaning,  to  escape  either 
the  labor  or  the  odium  of  controversy.  It  was  alleged,  that 
the  subject  of  this  memoir  had  selected  words,  in  reference  to 
this  ordinance,  which  signified  'drowning,'  and  'to  drown.' 
And  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  same  allegation  has 
been  recently  repeated  by  our  brethren  of  other  denomina- 
tions, in  their  correspondence  with  the  committee  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society ;  and  that  that  body,  upon 
such  ground,  should  have  resolved  to  withhold  the  resources 
of  a  catholic  institution  from  laborers  whom  it  does  not  deem 
incompetent,  nor  suspect  of  being  unfaithful.  Such  an  insti- 
tution was  never  supposed  to  be  an  arbiter  between  different 
sects  of  Christians,  but  to  be  equally  the  friend  and  benefactor 
of  them  all.  If  it  persevere  in  this  course,  it  consents  to  resign 
the  simple  majesty  of  its  Catholicism;  it  descends  from  its  high 
preeminence,  and  its  glory  departs. 


memoir  of  dr.  caret.  315 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

*  Calcutta,  Feb.  27,  1804. 
'Very  dear  Brother, 

'  The  state  of  things  among  us  is,  in  some  respects,  jjainful, 
and,  in  some,  enconraging.  I  fear  that  there  is  a  very  great 
dechne  in  the  vital  power  of  religion  among  some  of  our 
Hindu  friends.  We  have  on  that  account  appointed  the  morn- 
ing of  next  Lord's  day  to  be  a  season  of  prayer  and  humiliation 
of  soul,  and  of  serious  individual  examination.  May  the  Lord 
again  shine  upon  us  in  answer  to  prayer ! 

'I  have  been  just  writing  a  letter  to  the  Society,  informing 
them  of  our  having  engaged  in  a  translation  of  the  Scriptures 
into  the  Hindostani,  Persian,  Mahratta,  and  Oolkul  languages, 
and  of  our  intention  to  engage  in  more.  Perhaps  so  many 
advantages  for  translating  the  Bible  into  all  the  languages  of 
the  East  will  never  meet  in  any  one  situation  again,  viz.,  a  pos- 
sibiHty  of  obtaining  learned  natives  of  all  these  countries,  a 
sufficiency  of  worldly  good  things,  with  a  moderate  degree  of 
annual  assistance  from  England  to  carry  us  through  it,  a  print- 
ing-office, a  good  library  of  critical  writings,  a  habit  of  trans- 
lating, and  disposition  to  do  it. 

'We  have  agreed  to  make  an  experiment,  on  a  plan  lately 
formed,  to  extend  the  mission,  by  setting  up  several  subordinate 
stations,  at  about  one  hundred  miles  from  each  other,  which 
we  hope  may  maintain  themselves  by  a  little  business,  such  as 
dealing  in  cloth,  or  whatever  the  situation  may  produce.  Four 
brethren  always  to  stay  at  Serampore ;  each  station  to  commu- 
nicate with  them  monthly,  both  about  spiritual  and  temporal 
things  ;  the  whole  to  be  public  property  and  for  the  public  good. 
Brother  Chamberlain  will  be  fixed  in  the  first,  which  we  intend 
to  form  immediately  near  Cutwa,  on  the  banks  of  the  Calcutta 
river,  above  Nuddea. 

'  I  am,  very  affectionately  yours,  Wm.  Carey.' 

Mr.  Carey  to  his  Sisters. 

'JlugtistQS,  1804. 
'  My  dear  Sisters, 

'  Through  divine  mercy  we  are  all  well,  and,  myself  excepted, 


316  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

are  laboring  hard  in  the  cause  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  But  this 
year  has  hitherto  been  marked  with  a  very  great  number  of 
distressing  circumstances,  which  have  been  a  cause  of  great 
pain  to  us.  Yet  we  have  not  been  without  some  encourage- 
ment. 1  think  w^e  have  baptized  eight  persons,  and  I  hope  to 
baptize  three  or  four  more  in  a  week  or  two.  Thus,  though 
we  have  cause  to  lament  the  sins  of  some,  we  are  also  called 
to  admire  the  abundant  grace  of  the  Lord  our  God,  who 
always  causeth  us  to  rejoice  in  everf  place,  and  spreadeth 
abroad  the  savor  of  his  name  by  our  means.  Oh,  join  with  us 
in  praising  the  Lord,  and  let  us  exalt  his  name  together. 

'  I  have,  this  evening,  been  preaching  in  English,  from  2 
Peter,  iii,  18.  I  endeavored  to  define  the  grace  of  God,  as 
consisting  in  sorrow  for,  and  forsaking  of,  sin  ;  in  holy  jealousy 
over  ourselves,  and  care  not  to  transgress  ;  and  in  participation 
of  that  mind  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  knowledge 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  I  considered  as  a  hearty  trusting  in 
him  for  salvation,  and  receiving  him  as  exhibited  in  the  gospel. 
I  defined  growing  in  grace  as  consisting  in  frequently  looking 
into  ourselves ;  always  seeking  for  more  than  we  have  already  ; 
and  a  continual  desii-e  to  lay  out  for  God's  glory  what  we  do 
obtain  from  him.  Our  hearers  are  but  few,  and  I  fear  but  little 
good  is  done,  yet  I  dare  not  say  that  nothing  is  done. 

'  I  preach  on  Wednesday  evening  in  Bengali,  to  a  small  num- 
ber of  natives,  chiefly  Portuguese ;  on  Thursday,  in  English, 
to  some  Europeans.  On  Lord's  day,  one  of  my  brethren  comes 
down,  and  I  am  always  at  Serampore.  Who  can  tell  but  the 
Lord  may  return  and  be  gracious  ? 

'I  never  had  better  health  in  my  life.  Poor  Mrs.  C.  is  rather 
worse  than  better ;  a  very  distressing  object  indeed.  This 
.'ifiliction  is  heavy.  O  may  I  bear  it  like  a  Christian,  and  may 
it  be  of  benefit  to  me !     Farewell,  my  dear  sisters. 

'  I  am,  your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Caret.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  317 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'  Calcutta,  August  22,  1805. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'  I  was  forty-four  years  of  age  last  Friday. 

'  Yesterday,  our  venerable  brother,  Peetumber  Singh,  died, 
triumphing  in  the  Lord.  Our  brethren  were  singing  a  hymn 
by  him  when  he  died.  His  reason  was  in  full  exercise  to  the 
last,  and  he  appeared  to  feel  the  sentiments  of  the  hymn  in 
his  dying  moment.  He  has  been  a  very  honorable  member  of 
the  church.  His  conversation  on  his  death-bed  was  very  en- 
couraging and  edifying.  He  frequently  observed,  that  lie  had 
obtained  the  peace  which  Paul  wished  in  the  introduction  to 
all  his  Epistles. 

'Within  this  fortnight  past,  several  have  appeared,  in  Cal- 
cutta and  its  neighborhood,  to  be  inquiring  in  earnest,  what 
they  must  do  to  be  saved.  Krishnu  is  down  here,  and  has 
his  hands  full  with  going  to  visit  and  converse  with  them. 
Seven  persons  in  one  village  appear  to  have  been  awakened, 
by  receiving  small  pamphlets,  and  the  consequent  conversation 
arising  therefrom.  Three  or  four  of  them  appear  anxious  for 
baptism.  This  village.  Ram  Checarinopore,  is  just  opposite 
to  Calcutta,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  Two  in  Calcutta 
seem  to  be  in  earnest ;  of  one  of  them  I  have  scarcely  any 
doubt.  Yesterday,  four  more  persons,  whom  1  had  never  seen 
before,  attended  our  Bengali  worship,  in  Calcutta,  and  staid  till 
night  conversing,  full  of  anxiety,  about  salvation :  how  it  may 
end,  I  cannot  tell. 

'Is  it  not  possible  to  do  much  more  in  England?  Money 
must  be  turned  into  this  channel.  Would  not  an  annual 
meeting  in  some  central  part  of  England,  say  London,  be  of 
use,  to  call  the  public  attention  more  to  this  point?  The  an- 
nual meetings  of  our  Pedobaptist  brethren  have  this  effect. 
Ought  not  more  ministers  to  be  engaged  in  the  active  part  of 
the  Society  ?  I  see  that  the  whole  rests  on  a  few :  brother 
Fuller,  yourself.  Dr.  Ryland,  and  one  or  two  more.  Were  you 
to  die,  who  would  be  found  that  would  take  equal  interest  in 
the  active  parts  of  the  work  ? 

'Some  new  sources  of  income  are  opening  here.  The 
council  of  the  college  have  petitioned  government  for  an  en- 
28* 


318  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

largemeiit  of  my  salary,  and  some  of  the  gentlemen  feel  much 
interested  therein.  One  of  them  told  me  that  he  had  spoken 
personally  to  Lord  Coruwallis  about  it.  The  college  and  the 
Asiatic  Society  have  agreed  to  allow  us  a  stipend  of  three 
hundred  rupees  per  month,  to  assist  us  in  translating  and 
printing  the  Sanscrit  writings,  accounted  sacred  or  scientific. 
We  have  begun  the  Ramayunu,  the  most  ancient  poem  in  the 
Sanscrit  language.  Sir  John  Anstruther  showed  me,  to-day, 
a  letter  which  he,  as  president  of  the  Asiatic  Society,  and  by 
desire  of  the  college,  intends  to  address  to  all  the  learned 
societies  and  bodies  in  Europe,  to  recommend  the  work.  The 
three  hundred  rupees  per  month  is  independent  of  the  sale  of 
the  books.  The  copy  will  be  ours,  and  all  profits  on  the  sale. 
The  Sanscrit  text  will  be  printed  on  one  page,  and  the  trans- 
lation, with  notes,  on  the  other. 

'You  may,  perhaps,  wonder  that  I  write  no  more  letters; 
but  when  you  see  what  I  am  engaged  in,  you  will  cease  to  be 
surprised.  1  translate  into  Bengali,  and  from  Sanscrit  into 
English,  viz.,  the  Ramayunu.  I  have  also  begun  an  attempt  at 
translating  the  Veds.  I  must  collate  copies;  every  proof-sheet 
of  the  Bengali  and  Mahratta  Scriptures,  the  Sanscrit  grammar, 
and  the  Ramayunu,  must  go  three  times,  at  least,  through  my 
hands.  A  dictionary  of  the  Sanscrit,  which  is  edited  by  Mr. 
Colebrooke,  goes  once,  at  least,  through  my  hands.  I  have 
written  and  printed  a  second  edition  of  my  Bengali  grammar, 
wholly  new  worked  over,  and  greatly  enlarged  ;  and  a  Mah- 
ratta grammar ;  and  collected  materials  for  a  Mahratta  dic- 
tionary. Besides  this,  I  preach  twice  a  week,  frequently  thrice, 
and  attend  upon  collegiate  duties.  I  do  not  mention  this,  be- 
cause I  think  my  work  a  burden  ;  it  is  a  real  pleasure ;  but  to 
show  that  my  not  writing  many  letters  is  not  because  I  neglect 
my  brethren,  or  wish  them  to  cease  writing  to  me.  The  truth 
is,  that  every  letter  I  write  is  at  the  expense  of  a  chapter  of 
the  Bible,  which  would  have  been  translated  in  that  time. 

'  W.  Caret.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  319 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  December  10th,  1805. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'  This  has  been  the  most  prosperous  year  that  the  mission 
has  yet  seen  ;  we  baptized  thirteen  natives  in  the  last  month, 
viz.,  October,  and  the  first  Sabbath  in  November,  and  five 
more  last  Lord's  day,  December  1st.  I  think  about  thirty-five 
or  thirty-six  have  been  baptized  within  the  year;  nor  do  I 
know  of  any  season  in  which  so  many  other  propitious  cir- 
cumstances have  combined  in  favor  of  the  work. 

'  Two  obstacles  have  hitherto  stood  in  the  way,  if  we  had 
had  the  men ;  viz.,  want  of  money  to  support  them,  and  the 
difficulty  of  getting  permission  from  government.  I  trust  that 
both  of  these  are  in  a  fair  way  of  being  surmounted.  Our 
friend,  Mr.  Udney,  is  now  first  member  of  council,  and,  in 
consequence  of  the  absence  of  the  governor-general.  Sir  G. 
Barlow  is  now  vice-president  and  deputy-governor.  I  went 
to  breakfast  with  him  a  few  da3^s  ago,  and  took  the  opportuni- 
ty to  mention  our  design  to  him,  adding,  that  it  was  our  wish, 
if  possible,  to  fix  our  brethren  as  missionaries,  and  not  as 
traders.  1  told  him  that  we  did  not  wish  to  conceal  a  single 
step  that  we  took  from  government,  but  that,  as  things  stood, 
we  were  subject  to  innumerable  hindrances  from  the  magis- 
trates of  the  districts,  who,  in  obstructing  us,  would  be  only 
doing  their  duty,  as  things  now  stand.  I  mentioned  a  recent 
circumstance,  in  which  the  judge  of  the  city  of  Dacca,  forbad 
brother  Moore  and  my  son  William  from  distributing  books, 
though  the  people  were  so  eager  to  get  them,  that  they  were 
obliged  to  moor  their  boat  out  from  the  shore,  to  prevent  its 

being   sunk  by  the  crowd.     Mr.  U ,  in  a  very  friendly 

manner,  desired  me  to  state  every  thing  we  wanted  in  a  pri- 
vate letter  to  him,  and  said  that  he  would  privately  communi- 
cate with  Sir  G.  Barlow  upon  the  subject,  and  then  give  me 
his  best  advice.  1  have  no  doubt  but  government  will  give  us 
all  the  liberty  they  can.  The  other  difficulty,  I  trust,  will  be 
removed  also. 

'Another  propitious  circumstance  will,  I  trust,  enable  us  to 
do  more.  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  sent  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Udney,  wishing  him.  Rev.  Messrs.  Brown  and  Buchanan, 


320  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

brethren  Marshman,  Ward,  and  I,  to  form  a  committee  to 
cooperate  with  them  in  this  country.  In  consequence  of  this, 
brother  Marshman  drew  up  a  memorial,  which  was  much  ap- 
proved, showing  the  practicability  of  translating  and  publish- 
ing the  Bible  here,  for  a  comparatively  small  sum.  From  this, 
Mr.  Buchanan  drew  up  an  address,  which  was  immediately 
forwarded  to  the  governor- general,  and  is  intended  to  be  cir- 
culated all  over  India,  to  get  subscriptions  for  this  work,  and  I 
doubt  not  of  its  success.  This  will,  if  obtained,  take  off  the 
heavy  expense  of  translating  and  printing,  and  enable  us  to 
employ  the  money  in  spreading  the  word  when  printed.  We 
have  mentioned  the  following  languages,  viz.,  Sanscrit,  Bengali, 
Hindostani,  Mahratta,  Oorea,  Telinga,  Kurnata,  Guzzeratti, 
Persian,  Bootan,  Thibet,  Assam,  Burma,  Chinese,  and  Malay. 
You  will  probably  see  a  copy  of  the  memorial.  All  these  are 
or  can  be  brought  within  our  reach. 

'W.Carey.' 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'Februarys,  1805. 
'My  situation  in  the  college  imposes  a  great  quantity  of 
labor  on  me ;  but  I  feel  happy  in  it,  because  it  subserves  the 
cause  of  the  mission.  In  September  last  I  was,  as  moderator 
at  the  public  disputation,  called  to  deliver  a  public  speech  in 
the  Bengali  language,  and  another  in  Sanscrit,  before  the  gov- 
ernor-general and  all  the  chief  officers  of  government.  The 
Sanscrit  speech,  being  the  first  ever  delivered  in  that  language 
by  a  European,  was  ordered  to  be  translated,  and,  with  its 
translation,  printed  among  the  college  essays  and  theses.  I 
took  that  opportunity  to  address  part  of  the  speech  to  his 
excellency,  lord  Wellesley ;  and  after  it  was  translated  I  sent 
it  to  Mr.  Buchanan,  desiring  him  to  suggest  any  alterations  or 
additions.  He  considerably  enlarged  the  address  to  lord 
Wellesley,  and  inserted  some  expressions  of  flattery,  which 
I  totally  disapprove.  Without  saying  any  thing  to  me,  he  sent 
the  speech  thus  enlarged  and  amended  to  his  lordship,  for  his 
approbation,  previously  to  its  publication.  As  it  involved 
some  things  respecting  the  mission,  particularly  an  open 
avowal  of  my  having  been  in  the  habit  of  preaching  constant- 
ly to  the  natives,  and  superintending  schools  for  the  instruction 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  321 

of  Hindu  children  in  the  principles  of  Christianity,  he  was 
very  anxious  about  the  result,  but  said  nothing  to  me  till  it  was 
returned,  with  a  letter  written  by  his  lordship's  hand,  of  which, 
as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  this  is  a  copy: 

'I  am  much  pleased  with  Mr.  Carey's  truly  original  and  ex- 
cellent speech ;  I  would  not  wish  to  have  a  word  altered.  I 
esteem  such  a  testimony  from  such  a  man  a  greater  honor  than 
the  applauses  of  courts  and  parliaments.  W.' 

'Both  Mr.  Brown  and  Mr.  Buchanan  were  astonished;  and 
yet  more  so,  when,  on  the  6th  of  February  last,  Mr.  Brown 
and  I,  before  dinner  at  the  government  house,  were  talking 
together.  Lord  Wellesley  came  up,  and  expressed  nearly  the 
same  sentiments  to  me,  in  nearly  the  same  words,  adding,  I 
then  desired  Mr.  Buchanan  to  tell  you  this,  and  have  the 
pleasure  now  to  tell  it  you  myself  He  then  asked  several 
questions  about  our  family,  told  me  that  he  had  been  informed 
of  all  things  about  our  establishment  by  Dr.  Buchanan  (sur- 
geon), and  expressed  the  highest  satisfaction  with  the  whole.  He 
had,  a  week  before,  sent  me  a  great  number  of  copies  of  inscrip- 
tions, and  other  curious  documents,  in  the  Kurnata  and  Tamul 
languages,  collected  by  Dr.  Buchanan  in  Mysore,  for  me  to 
translate.  I  have  given  in  an  estimate  of  the  expense,  and  it 
will  probably  fall  on  me  to  superintend  the  translation,  if  it  be 
done,  which,  as  it  is  ordered  by  the  court  of  directors,  will,  I 
suppose,  be  the  case. 

'  Within  the  last  year  the  Mahratta  language  has  been  taught 
in  the  college:  this  was  placed  under  me.  On  the  6th  of 
February  last,  a  gentleman  who  had  studied  it  delivered  a 
public  declamation  therein,  at  the  public  disputations  at  the 
government-house,  with  very  great  reputation.  In  consequence 
of  this,  it  was  proposed  to  make  me  a  professor,  and  to  double 
my  income.  Mr.  Buchanan  informed  me  that  it  was  approved 
by  his  lordship,  and  would,  in  all  probability,  take  place.  At 
present  I  know  nothing  further  about  it ;  but  as  it  was  pro- 
posed without  my  seeking  for  it,  \  wish  to  leave  it  where  it  is.' 


1^  memoir  of  dr.  carey. 

Mr.  Carey  to  his  Sisters. 

'  Calcutta,  Dec.  31,  1805. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'  I  shall  never  more  see  either  of  you  in  this  world ;  indeed, 
considering  the  work  which  lies  before  me  here,  and  the  loud 
calls  to  exert  all  my  powers,  if  I  had  a  thousand  bodies  as 
strong  as  this,  I  dare  not  entertain  a  thought  or  wish  of  seeing 
any  of  my  friends  any  more  while  I  am  here  below.  I  enjoy 
very  good  health  and  spirits  in  general.  The  cold  season 
rather  pinches  me,  though  I  have  every  comfort  that  heart  can 
wish.  1  do  not  know  how  I  could  possibly  endure  an  Eng- 
lish winter;  for  though  we  have  no  frost,  I  can  scarcely 
endure  the  cold. 

'This  year  God  has  increased  us  with  thirty  persons  added 
by  baptism;  twenty-seven  of  them  natives,  and  three  Euro- 
peans. Several  of  our  native  brethren  have  gifts  for  preach- 
ing the  gospel,  and  are  much  more  useful  in  this  work  than 
we  are.  I  hope  a  few  more  are  inquiring  the  way  to  Zion, 
with  their  faces  thitherward.  O  that  the  Lord  may  greatly 
increase  their  number,  and  carry  on  his  cause  till  all  India,  and 
the  whole  world,  are  obedient  to  the  faith ! 

'We  are  now  engaged  in  translating  and  printing  the  Bible 
in  seven  languages,  and  expect  to  begin  it  in  six  more  in  a 
little  time. 

'  I  am  your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Carey'. 

It  has  often  and  justly  been  remarked,  that  it  would  be 
scarcely,  if  at  all,  possible  to  supply  a  European  agency  ade- 
quate to  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen  world ;  and  that 
hence  we  may  infer  the  great  importance  of  employing  native 
preachers,  and  by  their  means  multiplying  subordinate  stations 
throughout  the  various  regions  in  which  missionaries  have 
planted  themselves.  But  two  or  three  things  should  be  re- 
garded. First,  that  the  minds  of  native  brethren  be  well 
cultivated,  and  sedulously  trained  to  scriptural  study.  Second- 
ly, that  the  stations  should  not  be  selected  too  remotely  from 
those  occupied  by  European  missionaries,  lest,  for  want  of 
succor,  they  yield  to  discouragement,  and  fall  by  temptation. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  ^S 

And,  to  comfort  them  and  increase  their  efficiency,  the  Euro- 
pean brethren  should,  as  frequently  as  practicable,  become 
their  companions  in  their  itineracies  and  labors. 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Calcutta,  May  15,  1806. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'The  work  of  God  goes  on  gradually  among  us,  and  there 
are  few  months  in  which  some  are  not  baptized.  Last  month 
three  natives  were  joined  to  us,  and  the  month  before  two. 
"We  have,  however,  had  occasion  to  exclude  several  members 
for  evil  conduct. 

'  The  Cape  of  Good  Hope  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Eng- 
lish. Should  it  continue  so,  would  it  not  be  possible  to  have 
a  general  association  of  all  denominations  of  Christians  from 
the  four  quarters  of  the  world,  kept  there  once  in  about  ten 
years  ?  I  earnestly  recommend  this  plan.  Let  the  first  meet- 
ing be  in  year  1810,  or  1812,  at  furthest.  I  have  no  doubt  but 
it  would  be  attended  with  very  important  eflTects.  We  could 
understand  one  another  better ;  and  more  entirely  enter  into 
one  another's  views  by  two  hours'  conversation,  than  by  two 
or  three  years'  epistolary  correspondence. 

'Affectionately  yours,  W.  Carey.' 

'  Calcutta,  July  17,  1806. 
'  My  dear  Brother, 

'  I  have  lately  been  apprehensive  of  an  induration  of  the 
spleen.  This,  however,  does  not  lay  me  by  from  my  usual 
labors.  1  have  just  done  preaching  to  an  attentive  auditory  of 
Europeans,  from,  '  We  beseech  you,  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye 
reconciled  to  God.' 

'We  are  now  engaged  in  a  large  imdertaking,  namely,  the 
translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  all  the  languages  of  the  East. 
A  subscription  to  a  great  amount  has  been  made  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  is  still  filling  up.  I  suppose  that  it  amounts  at  this 
time  to  three  thousand  pounds  sterling.     The  printing  of  the 


324  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Bengali,  Mahratta,  and  Sanscrit,  is  begun;   I  trust  the  whole 
will  be  ultimately  accomplished. 

*The  printing  of  my  Sanscrit  Grammar,  is  now  finished 
within  a  sheet  or  two.  It  has  been  a  heavy  business.  I  am 
heartily  glad  that  it  is  done. 

'  I  am  your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Caret.* 

Mr.  Carey  and  his  companions  had  no  sooner  settled  them- 
selves at  Serampore,  and  commenced  their  missionary  work, 
than  they  had  to  encounter  the  opposition  of  the  ruling  pow- 
ers. The  grounds  alleged  for  this  interference  were  not  dis- 
similar to  those  which  formed  the  pretext  for  persecuting  the 
first  preachers  of  the  gospel  in  Judea  and  Asia  Minor. 

The    Missionaries    to    the    Society.      Written   by   Mr. 
Carey. 

'  Serampore,  Sept.  2,  1806. 
'Very  dear  Brethren, 

'  Our  quarterly  letter  will  inform  you  of  the  state  of  the 
mission  up  to  the  24th  of  June  last.  This  is  to  relate  to  you  a 
circumstance  which  occurred  last  week,  highly  distressing, 
and  which  may  considerably  embarrass  and  cramp  us  in  our 
labors. 

'  You  have  been  informed  of  our  wish  to  extend  the  in- 
fluence of  the  gospel  by  settling  missionary  stations  in  differ- 
ent places  of  this  and  the  neighboring  countries.  As  it  is 
desirable  to  do  every  thing  in  a  way  which  shall  give  no  offence 
to  government,  brother  Carey,  by  the  wish  of  us  all,  some 
time  ago  wrote  a  private  letter  to  Mr.  Udney,  stating  the  out- 
lines of  our  plan,  and  praying  for  the  permission  of  govern- 
ment to  carry  it  into  effect.  Mr.  U.  very  kindly  wrote  a  letter, 
stating  our  wishes,  and  recommending  the  desired  permission 
to  Sir  G.  Barlow,  governor-general,  who  was  then  in  the  upper 
provinces :  to  this  letter  no  reply  was  given.  Some  time  after 
this,  a  plan  was  digested,  and  proposals  were  issued,  for  trans- 
lating the  Scriptures  into  several  of  the  languages  of  the  East ; 
and,  in  consequence  of  a  letter  from  the  Bible  Societ}',  some 
gentlemen  of  great  respectability  intended  to  have  joined  with 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  325 

some  of  ns  to  form  a  committee,  for  the  purpose  of  managing 
this  undertaking.  Several  Armenians  and  Portuguese  have 
strongly  testified  their  approhation  of  the  truths  delivered; 
and  one  of  each  of  these  nations  has  desired  our  native  breth- 
ren to  publish  the  gospel  in  his  house  to  such  as  choose  to 
attend. 

'  The  word  has  been  widely  diffused  through  the  country, 
and  we  have  reason  to  think  that  the  disposition  to  hear  the 
truths  of  the  gospel  has  been  gradually  increasing  for  some 
time  past. 

'Judge,  then,  dear  brethren,  what  was  our  grief  and  surprise 
at  a  circumstance  which  took  place  last  week,  and  which  we 
shall  relate  exactly  as  it  occurred. 

'  Our  brethren  Chater  and  Robinson,  who  arrived  here  last 
week,  went,  as  is  customary,  to  the  police-office  to  report  their 
arrival ;  on  which  occasion  some  demur  arose  about  permit- 
ting them  to  proceed  to  Serampore.  Brother  Carey  therefore 
went  to  town  on  Tuesday  last,  and  waited  on  two  of  the 
justices  of  the  peace  (Mr.  Blacquiere  and  Mr.  Thoroton)  about 
the  matter.  As  he  was  leaving  the  office,  Mr.  Blacquiere 
called  him  back,  and  said  that  he  had  been  directed  by  the 
governor-general  to  express  to  him  his  desire  that  he  would 
not  interfere  with  the  prejudices  of  the  natives  by  preaching 
to  them,  instructing  them,  or  distributing  books  or  pamphlets 
among  them ;  that  he  would  desire  his  colleagues  to  observe 
the  same  line  of  conduct ;  and  that  we  would  not  permit  the 
converted  natives  to  go  into  the  country  to  spread  Christianity 
among  the  people.  Brother  Carey  inquired  if  this  communi- 
cation had  been  made  in  writing,  and  was  answered  in  the 
negative.  He  then  assured  the  magistrate  that  we  would 
endeavor  to  conform  to  the  wishes  of  government  in  all  that 
we  conscientiously  could. 

'This  prohibition  is  to  us  extremely  distressing;  and  is 
rendered  more  so  by  the  encouraging  circumstances  among 
the  natives  which  we  have  already  mentioned. 

'As  we  have  scrupulously  refrained  from  intermeddling 
with  politics,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  assign  any  adequate  cause  of 
this  sudden  change.  It  is  certain  that  government  had  not 
till  now  any  suspicion  that  evil  would  arise  from  om*  conduct; 
Brother  Carey,  in  a  public  speech,  since  printed,  informed 
29 


326  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

Lord  Wellesley  that  he  had  for  several  years  been  in  the  habit 
of  preaching  to  the  natives.  The  present  governor-general  in 
a  public  speech,  also  printed,  acknowledged  with  approbation 
'the  Society  of  Protestant  Missionaries  at  Serampore.'  No 
political  evil  can  reasonably  be  feared  from  the  diffusion  of 
the  o'ospel  now,  for  it  has  been  publicly  preached  in  different 
parts  of  Bengal  for  about  twenty  years  past,  without  the 
smallest  symptom  of  that  nature.  At  least  a  million  tracts 
and  pamphlets  of  different  sorts  have  been  distributed  in  every 
direction,  among  the  natives,  without  a  single  instance  of  dis- 
turbance, except  the  abusive  language  of  a  few  loose  persons 
may  be  so  called.  To  this  might  be  added  the  experience  of 
the  missionaries  on  the  coast,  who  have  preached  the  gospel 
for  a  hundred  years,  and  reckon  about  40,000  persons  who 
have  embraced  Christianity.  Such  long-continued  exertions  to 
spread  the  gospel,  carried  on  to  such  an  extent,  and  in  such 
different  situations,  without  producing  the  smallest  incon- 
venience, may,  we  presume,  furnish  a  course  of  experience 
quite  sufficient  to  remove  every  suspicion  of  political  evil 
arising  from  the  introduction  of  Christianity. 

'However  great  our  inclination  might  be,  there  is  one  part 
of  the  wish  of  the  governor-general  with  which  we  are  unable 
to  comply :  we  mean  that  which  requires  us  to  prevent  con- 
verted natives  from  disseminating  Christianity.  Native  Chris- 
tians are  settled  in  different  places  through  the  greatest  part 
of  Bengal ;  and  we  are  by  law  prohibited  to  go  where  they 
reside.  Being,  therefore,  unable  to  speak  to  them  on  the  sub- 
ject, compliance  is  out  of  our  power. 

'It  is  difficult  for  us  to  ascertain  the  present  path  of  duty. 
We  are  much  in  the  situation  in  which  the  Apostles  were, 
when  commanded  '  not  to  teach  nor  preach  any  more  in  his 
name.'  They,  it  is  true,  replied,  '  whether  it  be  right  in  the 
sight  of  God  to  obey  you  rather  than  God,  judge  ye  ?'  Would 
it  be  right  or  not  for  us  to  make  the  same  reply  in  the  first 
instance?  On  the  one  hand  our  prospects  of  success  are 
obscured,  and  those  opening  doors  for  usefulness,  which  a  few 
days  ago  engaged  our  attention,  and  animated  our  exertions, 
are  shut  by  this  cruel  message :  the  consequence  is,  that  souls 
are  perishing  on  every  side,  and  we  are  forbidden  to  adminis- 
ter the  remedy  which  God  has  put  into  our  hands.     To  act  in 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  327 

open  defiance  of  the  wish  of  the  governor-general,  might  occa- 
sion a  positive  law  against  evangelizing  the  heathen,  and  at  once 
break  up  the  mission,  which  has  been  settled  at  so  great  an  ex- 
pense. On  the  other  hand,  it  is  probable  that  if  we  yield  a  little 
to  the  present  storm,  it  may  soon  blow  over,  and  we  may  not  only 
enjoy  our  present  privileges,  but  obtain  the  liberty  which  we 
have  so  long  wished  for.  We,  with  the  advice  of  our  best 
friends,  have  for  the  present  chosen  the  latter  line  of  conduct. 

'You  will  see,  by  a  letter  of  ours,  dated  Aug.  27,  of  this  year, 
what  prospects  are  opening  upon  us.  We  trust,  therefore, 
that  you  will  do  your  utmost  in  England  to  clear  our  way,  and 
rest  assured,  that  we  shall  do  all  which  our  situation  will  per- 
mit us,  to  get  the  obstacles  removed  here. 

'We  think  that  this  circumstance  should  not  make  any 
alteration  in  our  plans  for  spreading  the  gospel  by  means  o 
subordinate  stations.  It  is  highly  probable  that  a  way  may  be 
opened  for  the  word  to  have  free  course,  long  before  brethren 
sent  from  England  can  be  fitted  for  effective  labor,  and  there- 
fore beg  that  our  letter  of  August  the  27th  may  be  considered 
as  a  statement  of  our  ultimate  plans.  We  are  not  doubtful 
respecting  the  final  success  of  the  gospel  in  these  countries, 
though  greatly  distressed  at  the  present  occurrence.  Our 
hope  is  in  God.  We  trust  that  this  will  be  a  peculiar  subject 
of  prayer  with  us,  and  we  shall  endeavor  to  improve  the  privi- 
leges yet  remaining.  The  cause  is  God's,  and  will  never  be 
deserted  by  him,  though  he  may  permit  temporary  obstructions 
to  arise. 

'  The  Rev.  Mr.  Brown  called  on  Saturday  last  on  the  magis- 
trate at  Calcutta,  and  has  sent  us  the  following  memoranda  of 
what  he  learned  from  him. 

'  After  a  long  discussion  with  the  magistrate,  I  find  as  fol- 
lows, viz. : 

'  1.  The  missionaries  remain  at  Serampore  in  full  powers. 

'2.  There  is  no  objection  made  to  their  circulating  the 
Scriptures. 

'3.  There  is  no  objection  to  their  preaching  in  their  own 
house  at  Cossitollah,  or  in  the  house  of  any  other  person,  pro- 
vided they  do  not  preach  openly  in  the  Lai  Bazar. 

'4.  Natives  may  teach  and  preach  wherever  they  please, 
provided  they  be  not  sent  forth  as  emissaries  from  Serampore. 


328  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

'  5.  There  will  be  no  objection  to  their  exercising  in  the  Lai 
Bazar,  or  any  where  else,  when  they  can  procure  permission 
frojn  the  court  of  Directors,  or  the  British  government. 

'The  magistrate  informed  Mr.  Brown  that  he  had  never  re- 
ceived any  complaint  against  us,  or  any  of  our  brethren,  and 
that  he  knew  nothing  of  any  report  to  our  prejudice  having 
ever  been  sent  to  government. 

'Thus,  dear  brethren,  we  have  given  you  a  simple  account 
of  this  afflicting  occurrence.  We  now  leave  it  with  you  to 
take  such  steps  as  may  appear  proper  and  practicable.  We 
know  that  you  will  not  be  backward  to  help  us  with  your 
prayers,  your  counsels,  or  your  exertions. 
'  We  remain,  dear  brethren, 

'  Very  affectionately  yours, 

'  W.  Carey,  and  Brethren.' 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Calcutta,  JVov.  18, 1806. 
'  Dear  Brother  Fuller, 

'At  no  time  since  the  commencement  of  the  mission  have 
its  affairs  been  more  important  than  at  present.  Except  what 
I  wrote  to  you,  no  communication  concerning  the  mission  has 
been  made  from  government ;  yet  several  circumstances  com- 
bine to  make  me  conclude  that  the  removal  of  it,  or  even  the 
suppression  of  it,  would  not  be  matter  of  regret  to  the  gover- 
nor-general. Much  trouble  has  been  given  on  account  of  the 
arrival  of  our  brethren.  An  order  was  passed  prohibiting  the 
clearing  out  of  the  ship,  unless  the  captain  took  them  back. 
We  made  a  representation  to  government,  and  the  governor  of 
Serampore  very  kindly  wrote  an  official  letter  to  say  that  we 
were  under  the  protection  of  the  court  of  Denmark,  by  express 
orders  from  Copenhagen.  Notwithstanding  all,  the  sentence 
was  conffrmed  ;  and  when  the  captain  applied  for  a  clearance, 
it  was  refused,  but  was  granted  about  two  hours  afterwards. 
This  was  a  matter  of  praise  to  God. 

'I  felt  at  first  much  distressed  about  tliese  untoward  circum- 
stances ;  but  was  afterwards,  with  all  our  brethren,  brought  to 
determine  that  we  would  go  straight  forward,  and  leave  the 
matter  with  God.     We  resolved  to  do  all  in  our  powei-,  by  rep- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  329 

resentation,  remonstrance,  and  tlie  like  ;  and  if  all  were  unsuc- 
cessful, to  yield  up  our  brethren  and  sisters.  God  has,  however, 
been  better  to  us  than  our  fears.  Through  this  whole  affair, 
our  friend  Mr.  Brown  has  interested  himself  much  on  our 
behalf;  as  have  also  our  other  friends,  Messrs.  Martyn,  Corrie, 
and  Parsons,  evangelical  clergymen  lately  arrived.  We  have 
prayed  repeatedly  with  and  for  each  other,  and  I  am  sure  have 
felt  a  real  interest  in  each  other's  affairs.  Our  friend,  Dr.  Bu- 
chanan is  on  the  coast,  where  he  has  long  been  on  a  survey  of 
the  state  of  religion  there.  He  writes  very  favorably  about 
the  state  of  the  Christian  congregations  at  and  about  Tanjore. 
Indeed,  it  appears  that  incredible  good  was  done  by  the  labors 
of  the  late  excellent  Mr.  Schwartz. 

'  In  consequence  of  our  being  unable  at  present  to  spread 
ourselves,  as  we  wish  and  propose,  in  Bengal  and  Hindostan, 
we  have  resolved  upon  sending  two  brethren  to  try  whether  a 
mission  cannot  be  begun  in  the  Burman  empire.  Brethren 
Mardon  and  Chater  have  accepted  the  call  to  go  thither,  and 
are  only  waiting  for  a  ship  to  take  them  to  Rangoon,  the  sea- 
port of  that  empire.  You  may  see  a  full  account  of  that 
country  in  Colonel  Symes's  embassy  to  Ava.  It  is  a  large 
empire,  lying  contiguous  to  Bengal  on  the  east,  but  inaccessible 
by  land,  on  account  of  the  mountains,  covered  with  thick  for- 
ests, which  run  between  the  two  countries.  It  is  at  least  eight 
hundred  miles  long,  bordering  on  its  east  side  upon  China, 
Cochin-China,  and  Tonquin.  I  hope  we  may  be  able  to  pen- 
etrate those  countries  also,  ultimately. 

'In  this  troublous  time,  some  Armenians  and  Portuguese 
have  come  forward  to  encourage  preaching  among  the  Hindus, 
and  are  fitting  up  a  place  for  that  purpose  in  Calcutta.  Our 
brethren  preach  in  the  school  of  an  Armenian,  while  the  place 
is  fitting  up.  This  is  a  matter  of  great  encouragement;  it  is 
the  Lord's  doing,  and  marvellous  in  our  eyes.  About  a  dozen 
of  our  native  brethren  are  constantly  employed  as  itinerant 
preachers  ;  they  go  two  and  two  together,  viz.,  one  gifted  for 
preaching,  reading,  &c.,  and  another,  of  inferior  gifts,  as  his 
companion.     I  trust  that  fruit  will  arise  from  this. 

'  W.  Carey.' 
29* 


330  MEMOIR    or    DR.  CAREY. 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'  Calcutta,  Feb.  11,  1807 
'My  dear  Brother  Sutcliff, 

'  The  present  is  to  the  mission  in  this  counti-y  a  highly  event- 
ful period,  and  one  which  onglit  to  make  us  eye  the  providen- 
tial hand  of  God  at  every  step.  I  wish  my  heart  were  more 
affected  with  the  circumstances  which  are  continually  taking 
place. 

'Notwithstanding  the  distressing  occurrences  some  time 
ago,  we  are  still  preserved ;  and  though  we  act  with  consider- 
able caution,  and  under  many  disadvantages,  yet  our  efforts  to 
spread  the  gospel  are  but  little  diminished,  and  it  is  highly 
probable  that  the  present  discouragements  will  eventually 
contribute  to  the  more  wide  spread  of  it. 

'  You  must  not  however  suppose  that  no  attempts  are  making 
in  Bengal ;  our  native  brethren  are  constantly  employed.  Six 
of  them  have  a  monthly  allowance  from  us,  and  are  continually 
out  as  itinerant  preachers.  Four  of  them,  and  my  son  William, 
are  now  in  the  neighborhood  of  Malda,  where  gospel  light  has 
been  much  spread  abroad,  and  there  are  pleasing  hopes  that 
one  or  two  may  be  soon  baptized. 

'Three  evangelical  clergymen  have  been  stationed  in  differ- 
ent places  under  this  presidency,  and  one  has  just  left  this  for 
Madras.  The  very  places  which  we  desired  to  occupy,  but 
could  not  obtain  permission,  are  thus  supplied  by  men  who 
are  as  desirous  of  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  as  we  are, 
and  who  heartily  coincide  with  our  measures. 

'  Until  lately  I  was  teacher  of  three  languages  in  the  college, 
on  a  monthly  salary  of  five  hundred  rupees  per  month ;  but, 
on  the  1st  of  January  past,  I  was,  by  the  governor-general  in 
council,  appointed  professor  of  the  Sanscrit  and  Bengali  lan- 
guages, to  which  the  Mahratta  is  added,  though  not  specified 
in  the  official  letter,  with  a  salary  of  one  thousand  rupees  per 
month.     This  will  much  help  the  mission. 

'  Very  affectionately  yours,  W.  Carey.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  331 

Mr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Calcutta,  Feb.  13,  1807. 

'  A  few  weeks  ago  I  wrote  to  you,  and  now  intend  to  give 
you  a  few  more  remarks  upon  the  state  of  things  among  us. 
The  gloomy  cloud  which  hung  over  us  some  time  ago  gave  us 
much  alarm,  and  still  threatens  to  hinder  our  exertions, 
though  it  will  not  perhaps  be  so  severely  felt  as  was  at  first 
imagined.  India  swarms  with  deists,  and  deists  are,  in  my 
opinion,  the  most  intolerant  of  mankind ;  their  great  desire  is 
to  exterminate  true  religion  from  the  earth.  1  consider  the 
alarms  which  have  been  spread  through  India  as  the  fabrica- 
tions of  those  men,  who  took  occasion,  from  the  concurrence 
of  two  or  three  circumstances,  viz.,  the  massacre  at  Vellore, 
and  the  rebellious  disposition  of  the  inhabitants  in  some  parts 
of  Mysore,  and  the  public  advertisements  for  subscriptions  to 
defray  the  expense  of  oriental  translations,  to  represent  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  among  the  natives  as  dangerous. 
The  effects  of  these  attempts  have  been  greater  under  the 
Madras  government  than  here. 

'  I  believe  Dr.  Taylor  would  have  found  it  a  very  difficult 
thing  to  have  stayed  at  Bombay  (as  it  is,  his  going  to  Surat  is 
deferred),  had  it  not  been  for  Sir  James  Mackintosh.  Sir 
James,  some  time  ago,  wrote  to  me,  inviting  us  to  try  a  mission 
in  those  parts,  and  offering  it  all  the  assistance  in  his  power. 
Dr.  Taylor  was  then  with  us.  I  tlierefore  replied  to  Sir  James, 
that  Dr  T.  would  endeavor  to  settle  at  Surat,  and  that  I  should 
esteem  any  attention  shown  to  him  as  if  it  were  shown  to  my- 
self I  afterwards  repeated  this,  in  reply  to  another  letter  from 
him ;  and  have  now  the  pleasure  to  hear  that  he  has  interested 
himself  so  much  in  his  favor,  that  there  is  little  fear  but  he 
will  remain  there  unmolested.  Sir  James  is  recorder  of  Bom- 
bay ;  the  man  who  gained  such  applause  in  England,  in  the 
cause  when  was  prosecuted  for   libelling  Napoleon. 

'  Dr.  Buchanan  has  been  a  tour  to  visit  the  whole  of  the 
south  of  India.  His  interview  with  the  Syrian  Christians,  in 
the  mountains  of  Malabar,  was  the  most  interesting  of  any- 
thing. Those  Christians  have  been  in  those  mountains,  in  the 
dominion  of  a  heathen  prince,  the  king  of  Travancore,  ever 


332  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

since  the  fourth  century,  if  not  before  that  period.  They  were 
forced  by  the  Portuguese  to  submit  to  the  church  of  Rome,  and 
remained  under  bondage  to  it  about  eighty  years,  when  the 
greater  number  of  them  cast  off  the  yoke,  and  have  ever  since 
worshipped  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  con- 
sciences. When  he  went  among  them,  they  received  him  with 
the  greatest  reserve,  for  they  thought  him  to  be  a  Romish 
priest,  and  had  an  idea  that  all  the  English,  if  they  were  any 
thing  in  religion,  were  papists.  They  thought  his  visits  a  trap, 
designed  to  bring  them  again  under  the  bondage  of  popery. 
When  he  had  convinced  them  to  the  contrary,  they  were  like 
people  in  an  ecstasy,  and  received  him  with  the  most  lively 
pleasure.  One  of  their  oldest  bishops  talked  like  a  man  of 
true  religion.  These  people  have  many  manuscript  copies  of 
the  Syriac  Bible,  but  the  greatest  part  of  them  had  never  seen 
a  printed  Bible.  The  Portuguese  had  burnt  many  of  their 
books,  but  not  one  of  their  Bibles.  They,  however,  had  in- 
sisted upon  inserting  some  interpolations ;  but  these  are  in  so 
different  a  character  as  to  appear  at  first  sight.  They  want  a 
translation  into  the  Malayala  tongue.  One  of  them  had  trans- 
lated Matthew  ;  but  it  was  almost  always  borrowed  by  others, 
for  the  sake  of  getting  copies.  They  have  agreed  to  encour- 
age translations,  and  to  set  up  Christian  schools  in  every  vil- 
lage. A  book  was  published,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago,  in  England,  giving  an  account  of  these  people  ;  it  is  called, 
'  An  account  of  the  acts  of  the  Synod,  held  at  Diamper,  in  the 

year .'     The  Jews   at   Cochin   are   numerous,  and  have 

manuscripts  of  the  Hebrew  Bible. 

'W.Carey.' 

Mr.  Carey  TO  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Calcutta,  October  Uth,  1807. 
'Dear  Brother  Fuller, 

'I  however  rejoice  to  inform  you,  that  the  storm  is  gone 
over.  On  Tuesday  last,  the  governor  of  Serampore  received 
a  letter  from  government,  revoking  their  order  for  the  removal 
of  the  press  to  Calcutta,  and  only  requiring  to  be  apprised  of 
what  we  print,  as  the  productions  of  our  press  are  designed 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  333 

for  distribution  within  the  British  territories.  We  shall  send 
copies  of  what  we  intend  to  print  to  the  governor  of  Seram- 
pore,  who  will  transmit  them  to  the  British  government.  The 
same  day,  a  letter  to  the  same  purport  was  sent  to  me.  We 
had  little  expectation  of  a  formal  revocation  of  the  former 
orders,  but  had  hopes  that  they  might  not  be  enforced.  We 
intend  to  keep  a  day  of  thanksgiving  for  this  deliverance,  as 
soon  as  I  return  to  Serampore.  As  the  circumstance  of  our  dis- 
persing pamphlets  in  the  Company's  dominions  is  recognized 
in  their  letters  of  revocation,  we  shall  feel  no  delicacy  in  dis- 
tributing them ;  and,  as  we  wish  to  avoid  every  thing  inflam- 
matory, and  have  a  genuine  desire  to  promote  the  tranquillity 
of  the  country,  I  have  no  doubt  but  we  shall  be  permitted  to 
print  nearly  all  we  wish.  Our  public  work  will  not  be  greatly 
interrupted  by  this  occurrence,  and  I  have  reason  to  hope  that 
the  obstacles  which  yet  remain  will  be  gradually  taken  away. 
Perhaps  our  situation  is,  even  now,  better  than  it  was  before. 
There  are,  however,  many  here  who  would  rejoice  to  see 
Christianity  wholly  expelled  the  country,  and,  particularly,  to 
see  any  embarrassment  thrown  in  our  way.  We,  therefore, 
have  no  security  but  in  God.  I  this  evening  preached  from 
Isaiah  li,  1,  2,  3.  I  think  I  feel  a  trust  in  God,  as  it  respects  the 
concerns  of  his  church.  The  example  of  his  preserving  and 
increasing  Abraham,  who  was  alone  when  called,  and  the  cir- 
cumstance of  this  being  held  up  to  encourage  the  hope  that 
God  will  comfort,  repair,  beautify,  and  fill  with  gladness  his 
church,  as  promised  in  the  third  verse,  is  a  support  to  me.  I 
have,  for  many  months  past,  had  my  mind  much  drawn  to  that 
passage,  Isaiah  xl,  27,  28,  particularly  verse  28,  '  God  is  the 
Lord,  the  everlasting  God,  the  creator  of  the  ends  of  the 
earth.'  Thus,  he  can  do  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  extension 
and  benefit  of  his  church.  Thus,  God  fainteth  not,  neither  is 
weary,  notwithstanding  the  wickedness  of  the  world,  and  the 
ingratitude  of  his  own  people.  He  knows  how  to  accomplish 
all  that  he  has  promised,  for  there  is  no  searching  of  his  un- 
derstanding. 

'W.  Carey.' 


334  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 


Mr.  Caret  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Jan.  Uth,  1808. 
'Mt  dear  Brother  Fuller, 

'  Blessed  be  God,  all  things  now  continue  quiet  with  us ! 
Our  deliverance  has  been  great,  and  it  may  be  said,  with  pro- 
priety, that  God  '  has  stretched  forth  his  hand  against  the  wrath 
of  his  enemies,  and  that  his  right  hand  has  saved  us.' 

'On the  eighth  of  December  last,  it  pleased  God  to  remove 
my  wife  by  death.  She  had  been  in  a  state  of  the  most  dis- 
tressing derangement,  for  these  last  twelve  years  ;  indeed,  the 
turn  of  her  mind  was  such  as  prevented  her  from  feeling  even 
those  ideal  pleasures  which  sometimes  attend  maniacal  per- 
sons. She  was  attacked  with  a  fever,  which  terminated  in 
about  a  fortnight. 

'  Our  friend,  Mr.  Wm.  Grant,  who  died  some  time  ago,  left 
twenty  thousand  rupees  to  the  mission,*  which  sum  I  have 
this  day  received  from  his  executor,  Mr.  EUerton.  He  also 
left  ten  thousand  to  assist  the  translations,  and  ten  thousand 
more  to  a  fund  formed  at  Calcutta,  to  maintain  an  evangelical 
minister  at  the  mission  church. 

'  We  are  printing  in  six  languages,  and  casting  types  for 
more.     Reports  will  be  sent,  perhaps,  by  this  conveyance. 

'Affectionately  yours,  W.  Caret.' 

Mr.  Caret  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'  Calcutta,  Jan.  18th,  1808. 
'Mt  dear  Brother, 

'  By  the  General  Stewart  you  will  have  received  a  very  large 
cargo  of  letters,  giving  you  an  account  of  the  great  peril  to 
which  the  mission  has  been  exposed,  and  of  the  wonderful 
deliverance  wrought  out  for  us  by  God.  Seldom  has  a  more 
remarkable  interposition  been  known,  and  seldom  has  a  deliv- 
erance been  more  evidently  an  answer  to  prayer.     We  are  all 

*'  We  mean  to  appropriate  the  interest  of  this  sum  to  the  support  of  the  mission 
stations,  in  various  parts  of  India.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  335 

overwhelmed  with  distress  ;  but  I  am  persuaded  that  we  all 
felt  a  reliance  on  God,  such  as  we  have  scarcely  witnessed 
before.  We  are  under  the  greatest  obligations,  under  God,  to 
the  governor  of  Serampore,  who  showed  himself  our  staunch 
friend  upon  this  occasion. 

'  I  have  lately  made  a  comparison  between  the  state  of  In- 
dia when  I  first  landed  here,  and  its  present  state,  as  it  respects 
the  progress  of  the  gospel ;  which  I  shall  send  you.  When  I 
arrived,  I  knew  of  no  person  in  Bengal  who  cared  about  the 
gospel,  except  Mr.  Brown,  Mr.  Udney,  Mr.  Creighton,  Mr. 
Grant,  and  Mr.  Brown,  an  indigo  planter,  besides  brother 
Thomas  and  myself  There  might  be  more,  and  probably 
were,  though  unknown  to  me.  There  are  now  in  India  thirty- 
two  ministers  of  the  gospel. 

'  The  Bible  is  now  translated  into,  and  printed  in,  the  fol- 
lowing languages: — 

'  Sanscrit,  Bengali,  Mahratta,  Orissa,  Hindostani,  Guzeratti, 
Chinese,  Seek,  Telinga,  Kurnata,  Burman  and  Persian. 

'  The  languages  on  the  continent,  into  which  a  translation  is 
not  yet  begun,  are,  Nepaul,  Bhootan,  including  Thibet,  Assam, 
Arrakan,  Pegur,  Siam,  Cambodia,  and,  perhaps,  two  or  three 
more,  of  which  I  am  not  informed.  In  the  islands,  they  are 
numerous  ;  viz.,  three  languages  in  Sumatra,  one,  at  least,  in 
Java,  that  of  Borneo,  Timor,  perhaps  ten  more  in  the  Moluc- 
cas, that  of  the  Philippines,  and  a  few  others ;  in  all  about 
thirty.  Should  God  spare  our  lives,  we  may  possibly  engage 
in  those  of  the  continent,  if  our  means  will  suffice.  The  Chi- 
nese, now  under  translation,  includes  that  of  Cochin-China, 
and  the  Japanese.  All  this  must  be  done,  and  men  must  be 
provided  to  carry  these  translations  to  the  different  countries, 
before  the  millennium,  which  cannot  be  far  off. 

'  W.  Carey.' 

In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Sutcliff,  he  thus  alludes  to  his  second  mar- 
riage : 

'Mayith,  1808. 
'  I  have  resolved  on  a  second  marriage,  and  expect,  by  the 
end  of  June,  to  be  united  to  Miss  Charlotte  Emilia  Rumohr. 


336  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

She  is  a  person  about  my  own  age,  and  of  whose  piety  and  at- 
tachment to  the  mission  I  have  the  strongest  proofs.  She  is  of  a 
noble  family,  in  the  duchy  of  Sleswick.  Her  father  died  when 
she  was  young.  Her  mother,  the  countess  of  Alfeldt,  died 
about  three  years  ago.  She  has  a  sister  living  near  Sleswick, 
who  is  the  wife  of  the  Graff  (Chevalier)  Warnstedt,  chamber- 
lain to  his  Danish  majesty,  and  ranger  of  the  royal  forests. 
Another  sister  is  married  and  settled  at  Marseilles.  I  do  not 
know  of  any,  except  Mrs.  Warnstedt,  who  are  serious,  though 
the  family  is  very  numerous. 

'Accept  the  assurance  that  I  am 

'Very, very  affectionately  yours,        W.  Carey.' 

^January,  1808. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'  The  last  year  has  been  one  of  the  most  eventful  of  my 
whole  life,  and  has  been  marked  by  some  of  the  strongest 
features  of  any  period.  I  have  received  the  greatest  proofs  of 
public  regard,  and  have  felt  the  strongest  effects  of  public  jeal- 
ousy, that  ever  have  been  shown  to  me  before.  I  have  had 
some  of  the  most  painful  exercises,  and  have  experienced 
some  of  the  greatest  supports,  I  ever  recollect.  It  would  be 
vain  to  repeat  to  you  the  hard  struggle  which  we  have  had 
with  government,  and  the  remarkable  way  in  which  God  has 
exalted  himself  above  the  wrath  of  his  enemies,  as  these  things 
are  detailed  at  large  in  a  great  number  of  letters  sent  to  Eng- 
land. I  do  not  recollect  any  occasion  on  which  I  have  felt  so 
much  ;  nor  do  1  recollect  any  circumstance  in  which  so  full  an 
answer  was  granted  to  prayer  in  so  short  a  time. 

'In  the  last  year  the  Lord  bestowed  upon  me  the  unspeaka- 
ble favor  of  calling  my  son  Felix  to  engage  in  an  attempt  to 
begin  a  new  mission.  A  day  or  two  before  Felix  left,  my  poor 
wife  was  indisposed,  but  no  danger  was  apprehended.  She, 
however,  grew  worse  and  worse,  till  December  the  8th,  on 
which  day  she  died.  Her  disorder  was  fever.  The  affection- 
ate attention  which  the  sisters  paid  to  her,  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  my  mind. 

'  Your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Carey.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  337 


SECTION  III 

DR.   Carey's   affliction — his    reflections    upon   the    ad- 
vancement OF  THE  mission A  CRUCIFIED  PERSON  RESCUED 

BY  HIS   SON,    MR.    FELIX    CAREY THE     WORK    IN    CALCUTTA 

CANNIBALISM  IN  SUMATRA THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  HIS    LABORS 

TO  SUCCEEDING  MISSIONARIES — DESTRUCTION  OF    THE  PRINT- 
ING-OFFICE BY  FIRE SYMPATHY  OF   OTHER   CHRISTIANS HIS 

PRESSING  ENGAGEMENTS DEATH  OF  MR.  FULLER THE    MAN- 
NER IN  WHICH  TRANSLATIONS    ARE    PREPARED HIS    ANXIETY 

AND  ADVICE  AS    TO    THE    FUTURE    CONDUCTING    OF    THE    MIS- 
SION. 

In  the  ensuing  section,  comprehending  a  period  of  seven 
years,  and  those  some  of  the  most  eventful  that  ever  marked 
the  progress  of  the  Baptist  mission  in  India,  Dr.  Carey's  own 
correspondence  was  found  to  be  so  copious,  and  so  explicit 
upon  almost  every  topic  of  which  it  treats,  that  nothing  de- 
volved upon  the  compiler,  beyond  making  the  appropriate 
selection.  No  portion  of  the  work,  it  is  believed,  will  be  found 
of  more  various  and  intense  interest. 

'  August  9,  1808. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'  This  part  of  the  world  is,  as  it  respects  divine  things,  a  vast 
uncultivated  wilderness.  We  see  thousands  and  thousands  of 
people  wherever  we  go,  and  no  extent  of  charity  can  make  us 
say  of  one  of  them,  '  that  is  a  Christian.'  I  am  often  discour- 
aged when  I  see  the  ignorance,  superstition,  and  vice,  with 
which  this  country  abounds ;  the  vast  numbers  who  have  not 
heard  of  the  word  of  life  ;  the  obstacles  of  various  kinds,  exter- 
nal and  internal,  to  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  ;  the  fewness 
of  the  laborers  ;  the  imperfections  that  are  among  them  ;  the 

omparatively  little  success  which  has  hitherto  attended  the 
gospel ;  and  many  other  considerations  which  perpetually 
30 


I 


338  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

occur  to  my  mind.  I  do  not  know  that  I  have  been  of  any 
use  to  any  one,  but  my  mind  has  been  constantly  more  or  less 
burdened  with  various  painful  things. 

'  When  I  first  came  into  the  country,  I  had  to  learn  a  diflicult 
language,  before  I  could  hope  to  be  of  any  use,  and  I  had 
nothing  to  help  me  in  it.  I  recollect  that  after  I  had  preached, 
or  rather  thought  I  had,  for  two  years,  a  man  one  day  came  to 
me  and  declared  that  he  could  not  understand  me  ;  and  this, 
long  after  my  flattering  teachers  had  declared  that  every  one 
could  understand  me.  I  feel  the  impression  which  that  poor 
man's  remark  made  on  me  to  this  day.  I  labored  long,  and 
saw  no  fruit.  Afterwards  the  Lord  wrought,  and  several  Hin- 
dus and  others  were  baptized.  Some  of  these  are  an  honor 
to  tlie  gospel,  and  some  have  died  in  the  Lord,  with  triumph 
on  their  tongues  ;  but  many  have  pierced  us  through  with  sor- 
rows. God  has  endowed  several  of  our  native  brethren  with 
ministerial  gifts,  and  they  have  been  called  to  the  ministry,  yet 
still  our  solicitude  continues. 

'  I,  however,  must  not  complain.  I  ought  rather  to  rejoice, 
that  to  me,  who  am  less  than  the  least  of  all  saints,  is  this 
grace  (favor)  given,  that  I  should  preach  among  the  Gentiles 
the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ. 

'  I  must  now  give  you  a  short  detail  of  the  few  occurrences 
which  have  taken  place  since  I  last  wrote.  I  was  married. 
May  the  9th,  to  Lady  Charlotte  Rumohr. 

'  Pray  for  me,  that  I  may  hold  out  to  the  end.  I  am  within 
a  week  of  forty-seven  years  of  age. 

'  Your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Carey'. 

'  Calcutta,  August  8,  1809. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'  Through  great  mercy,  and  in  answer  to  many  prayers,  I 
am  now  in  the  land  of  the  living,  and  about  to  resume  my 
usual  employments,  after  a  fever,  in  which  my  life  was  de- 
spaired of  for  a  week  together. 

'  In  the  morning  my  fever  increased,  attended  by  a  strong 
delirium.  Brother  Marshman  immediately  went  to  Calcutta, 
to  get,  if  possible,  one  of  the  physicians  there  to  come  up. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  339 

This,  however,  was  impossible.  In  the  absence  of  Dr.  Dar- 
ling, another  medical  gentleman  was  recommended.  T  was 
then  in  a  high  state  of  delirium,  and  had  conceived  a  strong 
abhorrence  of  every  thing  relating  to  war.  At  this  time  this 
gentleman  came,  and,  being  attached  to  the  army,  was  in  his 
regimentals.  The  sight  of  a  red  coat  filled  me  with  abhor- 
rence, and  I  treated  him  very  roughly,  and  absolutely  refused 
to  touch  his  medicine.  In  vain  did  he  retire,  and  put  on  a 
black  coat.  I  knew  him,  and  was  resolved.  I  believe  this 
agitation  of  spirits  did  me  much  injury;  but  just  then  in  came 
Dr.  Darling,  in  whom  I  had  the  most  implicit  confidence,  and 
who  had  hastened  and  came  before  his  time. 

'  In  this  populous  city  there  is  great  encouragement.  Ten 
years  ago  there  was  not  a  person  joined  to  us;  now  nearly 
fifty  sit  down  at  the  Lord's  table,  and  we  have  several  in- 
quirers. 

<  W.Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'  Calcutta,  Aug.  12,  1800. 
'  My  dear  brother  Sutcliff, 

'  1  have  been  lately  brought  to  the  gates  of  death  by  a  severe 
fever.  I  was  first  seized  with  it  the  last  Sabbath  in  June,  as  I 
was  returning  from  Calcutta  with  brother  Marshman.  For 
the  first  two  or  three  days  I  took  medicine  according  to  my 
own  judgment ;  but  getting  worse,  medical  aid  was  called  in 
from  Barrackpore,  a  military  station  on  the  opposite  side  the 
river  from  Serampore.  For  several  days  I  took  medicine 
which  appeared  to  answer  the  designed  end  ^  but  a  delirium, 
attended  with  considerable  fever,  supervened,  and  for  a  few 
weeks  together  my  life  w^as  in  doubt.  One  or  two  days  I  was 
supposed  to  be  dying.  I  believe  the  medical  gentleman  (Dr. 
Darling)  who  attended  me  well  understood  my  case,  and 
treated  me  with  the  utmost  skill ;  but  I  believe  my  life  was 
given  back  in  answer  to  prayer.  From  all  that  I  can  find, 
there  was  a  remarkable  spirit  of  prayer  poured  down  upon 
the  church  and  congregation  at  Calcutta,  on  my  account ;  and 


340  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  not  confined  to  our  con- 
gregation, but  was  pretty  general  among  the  serions  people  in 
Calcutta  and  its  environs.  On  the  Monday,  the  day  after  1 
was  taken  ill,  I  put  the  finishing  stroke  to  the  translation  of 
the  Scriptures  into  the  Bengali  language,  which  some  of  my 
friends  considered  as  the  termination  of  my  labors.  Now  I 
am  raised  up,  I  beg  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  go  on  with  more 
simplicity  of  heart,  and  more  real  despatch  and  utility,  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord. 

'We  have  greater  encouragement,  on  the  whole,  than  I 
formerly  expected,  and  I  trust  that  the  appearances  of  a  divine 
blessing  are  indications  of  the  Lord's  intention  to  carry  on  his 
work  to  a  greater  extent  in  this  dark  land. 

'I  cannot  now  say,  without  referring  to  written  memoranda, 
how  many  persons  have  been  baptized  at  Calcutta;  but  the 
number  is  such  as  to  give  us  much  encouragement.  Several 
others  are  now  on  the  inquiry,  and  will  probably  join  the 
chuich  in  a  little  time.  I  have  much  pleasure  in  observing, 
too,  that  the  greatest  number  of  inquirers  are  among  that  class 
of  people  w-ho  are  likely  hereafter  to  be  the  most  useful ;  I 
mean  the  native  Portuguese.  These  persons  not  only  speak 
the  native  languages,  but  are  much  nearer  the  natives,  in  their 
habits  and  manners,  than  a  European  can  ever  be  brought 
to  be. 

*  I  have  written  for  some  works  of  science,  which  I  hope 
you  v.'ill  send.  I  think  your  best  way  is  to  send  my  list  of 
roots,  seeds,  &c.,  to  some  nurseryman  of  note  in  London,  with 
orders  to  ship  them  on  the  Providence,  directed  to  me.  Were 
you  to  gi^'e  a  penny  a  day  to  a  boy  to  gather  seeds  of  cowslips, 
violets,  daisies,  crowfoots,  «fec.,  and  to  dig  up  the  roots  of  blue- 
bells, &c.,  after  they  have  done  fl[owering,  you  might  fill  me  a 
box  every  quarter  of  a  year;  and  surely  some  neighbors 
would  send  a  few  snow-drops,  crocuses,  &c.,  and  other  trifles. 
All  your  weeds,  even  your  nettles  and  thistles,  are  taken  the 
greatest  care  of  by  me  here.  The  American  friends  are 
twenty  times  more  communicative  than  the  English  in  this 
respect;  indeed,  though  you  cannot  buy  a  little  cabbage  seed 
here  under  about  £2.  2s.,  yet  I  have  never  been  able  to  extort 
an  ounce,  or  a  quart  of  kidney-beans,  from  all  the  friends  in 
England.     Do  try  to  mend  a  little.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  341 

Every  department  of  natural  history  engaged  his  attention, 
but  botany  was  his  favorite  study.  The  reader  will  remember 
The  Daisy,  by  Mr.  Montgomery : 

ADDRESSED  TO  DR.  CAREY. 

'  Thrice  welcome,  little  English  flower ! 

My  mother-country's  white  and  red, 
In  rose  or  lily,  till  this  hour 

Never  to  me  such  beauty  spread: 
Transplanted  from  thine  island-bed, 

A  treasure  in  a  grain  of  earth, 
Strange  as  a  spirit  from  the  dead, 

Thine  embryo  sprang  to  birth. 

'  Thrice  welcome,  little  English  flower! 

Whose  tribes  beneath  our  natal  skies 
Shut  close  their  leaves  while  vapors  lower; 

But  when  the  sun's  gay  beams  arise. 
With  unabashed,  but  modest  eyes. 

Follow  his  motion  to  the  west ; 
Nor  cease  to  gaze  till  day-light  dies, 

Then  fold  themselves  to  rest. 

'  Thrice  welcome,  little  English  flower! 

To  this  resplendent  hemisphere, 
Where  Flora's  giant  offspring  lower 

In  gorgeous  liveries  all  the  year: 
Thou,  only  thou,  art  little  here, 

Like  worth  unfriended  or  unknown. 
Yet  to  my  British  heart  more  dear 

Than  all  the  torrid  zone. 

<  Thrice  welcome,  little  English  flower ! 

Of  early  scenes  beloved  by  me. 
While  happy  in  my  father's  bower. 

Thou  shalt  the  blithe  memorial  be  : 
The  fairy  sports  of  infancy. 

Youth's  golden  age,  and  manhood's  prime. 
Home,  country,  kindred,  friends,  with  thee 

Are  mine  in  this  fair  clime. 

'  Thrice  welcome,  little  English  flower ! 

I'll  rear  thee  with  a  trembling  hand  : 
Oh,  for  the  April  sun  and  shower, 

The  sweet  May  dews  of  that  fair  land. 
Where  Daisies,  thick  as  star-light  stand 

In  every  walk !— that  here  might  shoot 
Thy  scions,  and  thy  buds  expand, 

A  hundred  from  one  root ! 

30* 


342  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

'  Thrice  welcome,  little  English  flower! 

To  me  the  pledge  of  hope  unseen : 
When  sorrow  would  my  soul  o'erpower 

For  joys  that  were,  or  might  have  been, 
I'll  call  to  mind,  how  fresh  and  green, 

I  saw  thee  waking  from  the  dust. 
Then  turn  to  heaven,  with  brow  serene. 

And  place  in  GOD  my  trust.' 

'The  Bible  Society  have  voted  £1000  per  annum  for  three 
years,  and  have  again  nominated  us  members  of  the  corres- 
ponding committee.  We  are  this  day,  August  12,  just  returned 
from  forming  it.  Yours,  very  affectionately, 

'W.Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'J»f«i/24,  1810. 
'  My  dear  brother  Ryland, 

'It  is  now  nearly  seventeen  years  since  I  left  England  for 
this  country.  Since  that  time  I  have  been  witness  to  an 
astonishing  train  of  circumstances,  which  have  produced  a 
new  appearance  of  all  things  relating  to  the  cause  of  God  in 
these  parts.  The  whole  work,  however,  has  been  carried  on 
by  God  in  so  mysterious  a  manner,  that  it  would  be  difficult 
for  any  one  person  to  fix  on  any  particular  circumstance,  and 
say,  'I  am  the  instrument  by  which  this  work  has  been  accom- 
plished.' At  the  same  time  all  has  been  done  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  one  or  another,  or,  more  properly  speaking,  by 
the  instrumentality  of  all,  so  combined,  compounded,  and  re- 
compounded,  that  distinct  instrumentality  can  scarcely  be 
perceived.  We  see  the  eflJect;  each  one  rejoices  in  it;  and  yet 
no  one  can  say  how  it  has  been  wrought.  I  have  often  thought 
that  the  work  must  be  obstructed  by  me,  and  that  the  God 
who  aboundeth  in  all  wisdom  and  prudence  in  the  dispensa- 
tions of  his  grace,  could  not  give  a  blessing  to  the  labors  of 
such  a  one  as  I  am,  without  deviating  from  that  wisdom  and 
prudence  which  he  always  observes.  I  have  often  been  dis- 
couraged on  account  of  that  apparent  want  of  every  prerequi- 
site for  publishing  the  gospel,  both  natural  and  moral,  of 
which  I  am  undoubtedly  the  subject.  A  natural  backwardness 
for  spiritual  conversation,  a  perpetual  vagrancy  of  mind,  and 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  343 

uncommon  barrenness  of  idea,  a  great  prevalence  of  unsancti- 
iied  affection,  to  which  I  may  now  add  a  great  decay  of  recol- 
lection, have  long  pressed  me  down,  and  convinced  me  that 
the  ministry  of  the  gospel  is  not  the  work  for  which  I  am 
fitted.  I  have  for  years  been  obliged  to  drag  myself  on,  to 
subject  myself  to  rules,  to  impose  the  day's  work  upon  myself, 
to  stir  myself  up  to  my  work  perhaps  sometimes  several  times 
in  an  hour,  and,  after  all,  to  sit  down  in  confusion  at  my  indo- 
lence and  inertness  in  all  to  which  I  set  my  hand.' 

His  friend  Dr.  Ryland  remarks  upon  the  above  passage 
'Lowspiritedness,  and  wild  humility.' 

'  Reflections  such  as  these  have  occasioned,  and  still  do  oc- 
casion, me  much  distress.  Yet  I  do  desire  to  give  myself,  such 
as  I  am,  wholly  to  the  cause  of  my  God,  and  to  be  wholly 
employed  in  his  service.  I  do  indeed  plod  on  in  my  work,  but 
without  the  life  and  spirit  necessary  to  excite  me  to  do  it  as  a 
spiritual  service  to  God. 

'I  will,  however,  leave  off  saying  more  about  myself,  and 
give  you  a  little  account  of  the  state  of  things  in  India,  in  a 
religious  point  of  view.  All  our  brethren  are  at  their  stations, 
and  I  have  not  lately  heard  of  any  thing  new.  Brother  Cham- 
berlain has  been  greatly  blessed  in  his  v/ork.  A  number  of 
soldiers  at  Burhampore,  about  fift}^,  have  been  brought  to  tlie 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  added  to  the  church. 

'  We  have  now  the  fullest  proof  of  the  Sanscrit  being  in- 
telligible, as  pundits  from  the  most  distant  provinces  have 
made  translations  from  it  into  their  vernacular  languages ;  and, 
as  I  am  obliged  to  learn  these  languages,  and  to  acquire  some- 
what of  a  critical  knowledge  of  them,  before  I  can  judge  of 
these  translations,  and,  having  acquired  it,  am  obliged  to  em- 
ploy it  to  correct  their  rough  copies  for  the  press,  I  am  able  to 
see  every  place  where  they  mistook  the  Sanscrit ;  and  I  am 
happy  to  say  that  these  passages  are  few,  and  some  of  them 
have  arisen  from  the  necessary  use  of  words  of  several  mean- 
ings in  the  Sanscrit,  some  from  obscurity  in  the  Greek  phrase- 
ology, which  we  did  not  think  ourselves  at  liberty  to  alter, 
some  from  the  length  and  intervolved  natures  of  the  periods, 
especially  in  the  Epistles,  and  some  from  errors. 

'  Very  affectionately  yours,  W.  Carey.' 


344  memoir  of  dr.  carey. 

Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'  October  24,  1810. 

'  I  bless  God,  our  affairs  are  in  rather  a  prosperous  state. 
Last  Tliursday  evening  I  had  twenty  persons  with  me  under 
concern  of  soul,  all  of  them  desirous  of  being  admitted  into 
the  church.  Two  others  who  are  like-minded  were  absent. 
I  expect  these  will  all  be  brought  forward  within  two  or  three 
months.  This  is  very  encouraging,  especially  as,  a  few  months 
ago,  after  a  baptism,  I  looked  around,  unable  to  see  more  than 
one  or  two  persons  concerning  whom  1  had  any  hopes.  In- 
deed the  Lord  is  doing  great  things  for  Calcutta;  and  though 
infidelity  abounds,  yet  religion  is  the  theme  of  conversation  or 
dispute  in  almost  every  house.  A  few  weeks  ago,  I  called 
upon  one  of  the  judges  to  take  a  breakfast  with  him,  and 
going  rather  abruptly  up  stairs,  as  I  had  been  accustomed  to 
do,  r  found  the  family  just  going  to  engage  in  morning  wor- 
ship. I  was  of  course  asked  to  engage  in  prayer,  which  I  did. 
I  afterwards  told  him  that  I  had  scarcely  witnessed  any  thing 
since  I  had  been  in  Calcutta  which  gave  me  more  pleasure 
than  what  I  had  seen  that  morning.  The  change  in  this  fami- 
ly was  an  effect  of  Mr.  Thomason's  ministry.  This  morning 
I  called  on  him  again,  when  I  had  a  very  pleasing  conversation 
with  him,  his  wife,  and  wife's  sister,  upon  the  subject  of  set- 
ting up  a  charity-school  for  Portuguese  girls.  We  began  one 
for  boys  last  January,  and  now  more  than  seventy  boys  are 
instructed  in  it  gratis.  This  laid  the  foundation  for  a  conver- 
sation on  the  best  manner  of  constituting  and  managing  such 
a  school.  My  heart  was  filled  with  thankfulness  to  see  the 
zeal  of  the  ladies  in  this  undertaking,  and  1  have  little  doubt 
of  its  being  soon  set  on  foot.  About  ten  days  ago,  I  had  a 
conversation  with  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court.  Sir 
John  Royds,  upon  religious  subjects.  Indeed  there  is  now 
scarcely  a  place  where  you  can  pay  a  visit  without  having 
an  opportunity  of  saying  something  about  true  religion.' 

The  pleasing  effect  of  missionary  and  other  evangelical 
labors  upon  European  society,  has  been  advancing  from  the 
period  when  this  brief  review  was  taken,  to  the  present  hour; 
so  much  so,  that  the  aggregate  result  is  such  as  far  to  trans- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY.  345 

cend  the  sanguine  expectations  of  the  most  devoted  ministers 
and  Christian  friends  who  witnessed  only  its  commencement. 
'  About  a  month  ago,  I  received  a  letter  from  my  son  Felix, 
of  which  the  following  extract  will  give  you  pleasure.  '  The 
present  viceroy  is  uncommonly  kind  to  strangers  of  every 
description,  but  more  especially  to  us.  He  has  been  once  to 
see  us,  and  wishes  us  to  call  on  him  as  often  as  we  can  find 
it  convenient.  He  is  of  a  very  free  and  affable  disposition. 
The  other  day  I  went  to  him  in  behalf  of  a  poor  sufferer  who 
was  crucified,  and  condemned  to  die  in  that  situation.  After 
I  had  pleaded  for  about  half  an  hour,  he  granted  my  request, 
though  he  had  denied  several  other  people,  among  whom  was 
the  Ceylon  priest.  I  took  the  poor  man  down,  after  he  had 
been  nailed  up  for  more  than  six  hours,  brought  him  home, 
and  dressed  his  wounds,  and  now  he  is  nearly  cured.  This 
man  will  now,  by  law,  belong  to  me  as  long  as  he  lives,*  and 
I  hope,  may  not  only  be  a  useful  servant,  but  become  a  real 
Christian.'  In  a  letter  to  William,  he  says  that  he  was  going 
to  see  some  patients,  and  saw  the  poor  man  on  the  cross.  He 
immediately  went  the  nearest  way  to  the  viceroy's  house,  and 
as  he  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  a  female  relation  of  the  vice- 
roy who  was  ill,  he  had  access  to  all  the  private  apartments, 
though  the  viceroy  had  given  orders  that  no  one  should  be 
admitted,  in  order  that  he  might  not  be  importuned  on  this 
subject.  The  entering  was  attended  with  danger,  where  the 
will  of  the  governor  was  law ;  and,  had  he  been  in  an  ill 
humor,  might  have  occasioned  the  loss  of  his  head.  He  how- 
ever ventured,  presented  his  petition,  and,  according  to  the 
Burman  custom,  insisted  on  its  being  granted  before  he  left 
the  place.  The  viceroy  refused  several  times,  but  at  last  said 
he  would  grant  it,  if  he  received  promise  never  to  intercede 
for  another.  This  Felix  refused.  He  then  made  him  promise 
to  go  up  to  Ava  with  him,  when  he  shall  have  occasion  to  go 
thither.  To  this  he  assented,  when  the  order  for  the  poor 
man's  release  was  given.  This  was  to  go  through  all  the 
forms  of  ofiice,  but  at  last  he  obtained  it  from  the  secretary. 


*  Upon  this  passage  Dr.  Carey  adds,  » I  abhor  slavery,  and  shall  this  week  write 
to  him  to  give  the  man  his  liberty,  if  it  be  possible.' 


346  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY. 

and  went  with  it  to  the  cross.  When  he  arrived  there,  not 
one  of  the  officers  who  attended  would  read  it  without  a  re- 
ward. After  remonstrating  and  threatening  for  a  considerable 
time,  he  was  obliged  to  offer  them  a  piece  of  cloth ;  when  the 
man  was  immediately  taken  down,  and  had  just  strength  left 
to  express  his  thanks.  I  understand  that  the  punishment  of 
crucifixion  is  not  performed  on  separate  crosses,  elevated  to  a 
considerable  height,  after  the  manner  of  the  Romans,  but 
several  posts  are  set  up,  which  are  connected  by  rails  near  the 
top,  to  which  the  hands  are  nailed,  and  by  a  rail  at  the  bottom, 
to  which  the  feet  are  nailed  in  a  horizontal  manner.  The 
crucifixion  of  this  man  took  place  about  the  10th  of  August. 
He  was  nailed  up  about  three  in  the  afternoon,  and  took  doAvn 
between  nine  and  ten  at  night.  Brother  Chater  says,  he  be- 
lieves Felix  was  the  only  person  in  the  place  who  could  have 
succeeded,  and  that  it  gained  him  much  renown  among  the 
Burmans.  The  family  were  much  alarmed  for  his  safety,  and 
knew  nothing  of  the  transaction  till  he  arrived  at  home,  with 
a  number  of  officers  and  others,  with  the  poor  man.  I  under- 
stand he  was  able  to  sit  up  the  next  day,  and  expressed  a  high 
sense  of  gratitude.     In  about  a  fortnight  he  was  able  to  stand. 

W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Sutcliff. 

'Received  March  27,  1812. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

7p  tP  ^  ^  ^  %  ^ 

'  There  are  a  few  circumstances  in  the  mission  which  ]  have 
not  particularly  mentioned  to  Mr.  Fuller  or  Dr.  Ryland,  which 
I  shall  mention  to  you.  The  first  respects  the  labors  of  our 
native  brethren,  which  will  give  you  pleasure,  though  we  have 
in  two  instances  occasion  for  grief.  There  are  two  native 
preachers  of  the  name  of  Krishnu.  One  of  them,  the  first 
Hindu  who  was  baptized,  is  settled  in  Calcutta,  and  the  other 
with  John  Peter,  at  Ballasore.  The  first  labors  at  Calcutta 
with  great  success.  Krishnu  is  now  a  steady,  zealous,  and 
well-informed,  and  I  may  add,  eloquent  minister  of  the  gospel, 
and  preaches,  on  an  average,  twelve  or  fourteen  times  every 
week,  in  Calcutta  and  its  environs.    Sebuk-ram,  another  hon- 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  347 

orable  minister  of  the  gospel,  is  also  employed  in  and  about 
Calcutta,  and  preaches  nearly  or  quite  as  often.  We  preach 
in  English  at  the  jail  every  Lord's  day,  the  jailor  being  one  of 
our  deacons,  and  did  preach  in  the  fort  till  a  military  order 
stopped  us.  Our  brethren  Krishnu  and  Sebuk-ram,  however, 
preach  once  or  twice  a  week  in  the  fort,  in  the  jail,  in  the 
house  of  correction,  at  Ali-poora,  a  village  south  of  the  jail,  at 
ten  or  twelve  houses  in  different  parts  of  Calcutta,  at  a  large 
factory,  north  of  Calcutta,  where  some  hundreds  of  men 
are  employed,  and  at  other  places.  Some  of  their  con- 
gregations are  small,  and  others  larger.  In  several  instances 
Roman  Catholics,  having  heard  the  w  ord,  have  invited  them  to 
their  houses,  collected  their  neighbors,  and  they  or  some  of 
their  neighbors  have  received  it  with  gladness.  The  number 
of  inquirers  constantly  coming  forward,  awakened  by  then- 
instrumentality  among  this  poor  and  benighted  people,  fills  me 
with  joy.  I  do  not  know  that  I  am  of  much  use  myself,  but  I 
see  a  work  which  fills  my  soul  with  thankfulness.  Not  having 
time  to  visit  the  people,  I  appropriate  every  Thursday  evening 
to  the  receiving  the  visits  of  inquu'ers.  Seldom  fewer  than 
twenty  come ;  and  the  simple  confessions  of  their  sinful  state, 
the  unvarnished  declarations  of  their  former  ignorance,  the 
expressions  of  trust  in  Christ,  and  of  gratitude  to  him,  with 
the  accounts  of  their  spiritual  conflicts,  often  attended  with 
tears  w^hich  almost  choke  their  utterance,  present  a  scene 
of  which  you  can  scarcely  entertain  an  adequate  idea.  At  the 
same  time,  meetings  for  prayer  and  mutual  edification  are 
held  every  night  in  the  week,  and  some  nights,  for  convenience, 
at  several  places  at  the  same  time,  so  that  the  sacred  leaven 
spreads  its  influence  through  the  mass. 

'  Brother  Chater's  mind  is  set  on  a  mission  to  Pulopenang. 
It  is  an  important  place,  and  I  doubt  not  but  he  will  be  faithful, 
diligent,  and  useful  there ;  but  three  years  spent  on  the  Bur- 
man  mission  are  thrown  away.  Sumatra  is  a  very  important 
jDiace  for  a  mission.  I  was  informed  by  the  late  T.  Parr,  Esq., 
who  was  then  president  there,  that  he  had  the  most  decisive 
proofs  of  the  natives  of  that  island  being  cannibals ;  but,  about 
a  fortnight  ago,  a  gentleman  of  undoubted  veracity,  gave  me 
such  an  account  of  them  as  exceeded  all  tliat  I  ever  heard  of 
cannibals.     This  gentleman,  captain  of  a  ship  in  the  Eastern 


348  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

trade,  was  at  Serampore  about  a  fortnight  ago,  with  a  little 
boy.  As  we  were  together,  he  said  to  me,  '  Can  you  imagine 
how  I  came  by  this  boy  ? '  I  said,  No.  Said  he,  '  I  was  on  the 
east  coast  of  Sumatra,  when  having  occasion  to  go  ashore,  my 
attention  was  arrested  by  three  little  boys  whom  I  saw.  I 
asked  a  Malay  who  they  were.  He,  without  any  hesitation, 
replied  that  they  had  been  stolen  from  a  neighboring  island, 
and  would  be  sold  for  food  to  the  Battas,  a  nation  inhabiting 
part  of  Sumatra,  as  soon  as  they  were  fattened.  I  asked  their 
price,  and  was  told  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  Without 
thinking  of  the  price,'  said  he,  '  I  went  on  board  and  brought 
the  money,  with  v/hich  I  bought  them,  and  carried  them  on 
board  the  ship.'  I  believe  it  is  not  supposed  that  cannibals 
exist  who  devour  any  besides  enemies  taken  in  war.  Surely 
the  enemies  of  missions  will  not  dispute  the  propriety  of 
sending  the  gospel  thither.  Felix  is  well  and  happy  at  Ran- 
goon. That  country  is  in  a  horrid  state  of  revolt,  distraction, 
and  civil  war.  Affectionately  yours, 

'  Wm.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland  (Extract.) 

'December  10,  1811. 
'  The  necessity  which  lies  upon  me  of  acquiring  so  many 
languages,  obliges  me  to  study  and  write  out  the  grammar  of 
each  of  them,  and  to  attend  closely  to  all  their  irregularities 
and  pecuHarities.  I  have  therefore  published  grammars  of 
three  of  them,  the  Sanscrit,  the  Bengali,  and  the  Mahratta.  I 
intend  also  to  publish  grammars  of  the  others,  and  have  now 
in  the  press  a  grammar  of  the  Telinga  language,  and  another 
of  that  of  the  Seeks,  and  have  begun  one  of  the  Orissa  lan- 
guage. To  these  I  intend,  in  time,  to  add  those  of  the  Kurnata, 
the  Kashmeera,and  Nepala,  and  perhaps  the  Assam  languages. 
I  am  now  printing  a  dictionary  of  the  Bengali,  which  will  be 
pretty  large,  for  I  have  got  to  256  pages  quarto,  and  am  not 
nearly  through  the  first  letter.  That  letter,  however,  begins 
more  words  than  any  two  others.  I  am  contemplating,  and 
indeed  have  been  long  collecting  materials,  for  a  universal 
dictionary  of  the  oriental  languages,  derived  from  the  Sanscrit, 
of  which  that  language  is  to  be  the  ground-work,  and  to  give 
the  corresponding  Greek  and  Hebrew  words.     I  wish  much 


MEMOIR    or    DR.  CAREY.  349 

to  do  this,  for  the  sake  of  assisting  biblical  students  to  correct 
the  translation  of  the  Bible  in  the  oriental  languages,  after  we 
are  dead,  but  which  can  scarcely  be  done  without  something 
of  this  kind ;  and  perhaps  another  person  may  not,  in  the 
space  of  a  century,  have  the  advantages  for  a  work  of  this 
nature  that  I  now  have.  I  therefore  think  it  would  be  criminal 
in  me  to  neglect  the  little  that  I  am  able  to  do  ^vhjle  I  enjoy 
them. 

'  W.  Carey.' 

'  Calcutta,  March  Uth,  1812. 
'My  DEAR  Brother, 

'With  respect  to  myself  and  family,  I  have  the  greatest  rea- 
son to  be  thankful.  I  enjoy  good  health.  I  have  a  very  affec- 
tionate and  pious  wife,  whose  mind  is  highly  cultivated  by 
education  and  extensive  reading.  Three  of  my  sons  are  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  and  two  of  them  engaged  in  the  work  of. 
the  ministry.  I  have  experienced  the  truth  of  what  the  Lord 
said,  '  He  that  forsaketh  any  eaithly  good,  for  my  name  and  the 
gospel,  shall  receive  a  hundred  fold.'  But  I  have  seen  that 
which  is  of  infinitely  more  importance  than  all  temporal  good  ; 
I  have  seen  the  word  of  God  take  root  in  this  land,  so  that 
there  are  now  belonging  to  this  mission,  or  connected  there- 
with, eleven  churches,  and  two  or  three  more  are  on  the  eve 
of  being  formed.  Some  of  these  churches  are  in  an  infant 
state,  but  there  are  others  which  have  thirty,  forty,  seventy, 
and  even  a  hundred  and  fifty  members. 

*  #  #  #  *  *  *■ 

'  In  any  other  way,  I  am  unconscious  of  being  of  any  spe- 
cial use.  I  occupy  a  place  among  others  of  my  species,  and 
may,  perhaps,  sometimes  partake  of  the  pleasures  of  the 
saints  ;  but  of  this,  I  can  say  but  little. 

'Your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Eustace  Carey. 

'  March  mh,  1812. 
'  Whether  you  come  to  India  or  not,  be  assured  that  the 
work  of  publishing  the  gospel  is  the  most  important  work  you 
31 


I 


350  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

could  have  chosen.  Engage  in  it  with  humble  dependence  on 
God,  and  with  a  single  eye  to  his  glory,  and  1  doubt  not  but  he 
will  give  a  blessing  to  your  undertaking.  I  am  fully  of  opinion 
that  every  person  to  whom  God  has  given  abilities  for  the 
work,  is  bound  to  devote  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
It  is  not  at  the  option  of  such  a  person,  whether  he  will  engage 
in  it  or  not,  nor  is  it  at  the  option  of  a  church  whether  it  will 
send  one  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  upon  whom  God  has  be- 
stowed spiritual  gifts.  If  the  church  neglect  to  send  such  a 
member  into  the  ministry,  the  guilt  lies  on  them.  The  num- 
ber of  persons  now  required  to  spread  the  gospel  through  the 
earth,  is  unspeakably  great.  If  fifty  thousand  ministers,  besides 
those  actually  employed,  were  now  to  go  forth,  they  would  be 
so  thinly  spread  about,  as  scarcely  to  be  perceived.  The  har- 
vest is  indeed  great,  but  the  laborers  are  very  few. 

'  I  began  this  letter  last  night ;  this  morning  I  close  it  hastily, 
having  received  intelligence  of  a  dreadful  loss  which  befel  the 
mission  last  night.  Our  printing-office  was  totally  consumed 
by  fire  ;  and  all  the  property,  amounting  to  at  least  sixty  or 
seventy  thousand  rupees,  was  destroyed ;  nothing  was  saved 
but  the  presses.  This  is  a  heavy  blow,  as  it  will  put  a  stop  to 
our  labors  in  printing  the  Scriptures,  for  a  long  time  to  come. 
Twelve  months'  hard  labor  will  not  put  it  into  the  state  it  was 
in,  not  to  mention  loss  of  property,  manuscripts,  and  other 
things,  which  we  shall  scarcely  ever  surmount.  I  wish  to  be 
still,  and  know  that  the  Lord  is  God,  and  to  bow  to  his  divine 
will  in  every  thing.  He  will,  no  doubt,  bring  good  out  of  this 
evil,  and  make  it  the  occasion  of  promoting  his  interest ;  but 
to  us,  at  present,  the  providence  is  exceedingly  dark.  Through 
divine  mercy,  no  lives  were  lost.  We  cannot  tell  what  was 
the  cause  of  the  fire. 

'Your  aflfectionate  uncle,  W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Calcutta,  March,  25th,  1812. 
*My  dear  Brother  Fuller, 

'  We  have  been  smitten  in  a  very  tender  part,  and  smitten 
repeatedly,  within  these  few  months.  Poor  brother  Chamber- 
lain has  been  successively  bereaved  of  all  his  children,  all 
three  of  them  having  been  removed  within  the  short  period  of 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  351 

nine  months.  Brother  Mardon  has  lost  his  partner  in  life,  and, 
last  week,  his  youngest  child.  Brother  Ward  has  lost  his 
youngest  daughter  but  one,  and  brother  Marshrnan,  his  youngest 
son;  and,  the  week  before  last,  our  printing-office,  with  all  that 
it  contained,  was  consumed  by  fire  ;  nothing  was  saved,  except 
the  presses,  which  were  in  an  adjoining  room.  The  loss  can- 
not be  estimated  at  less  than  seventy  thousand  rupees.  By 
this  providence,  several  important  manuscripts  were  lost.  I 
believe,  in  my  own  case,  it  will  require  twelve  months'  hard 
labor  to  replace  what  has  been  consumed.  This  affliction  is 
severely  felt,  as  it  will  occasion  a  considerable  delay  in  the 
publication  of  the  different  versions  of  the  Bible,  in  which  we 
are  engaged,  and  the  loss  of  English  paper  cannot,  if  our  funds 
were  ever  so  large,  be  soon  replaced  in  this  country.  Many 
very  merciful  circumstances,  however,  attended  this  provi- 
dence, and  I  rather  wish  to  record  them,  than  to  dwell  upon  the 
gloomy  side  of  the  event.  1.  No  life  was  lost,  and  no  one's 
health  injured,  though  brother  Ward  was  in  very  great  danger 
of  being  suffocated  with  the  smoke,  through  running  into  the 
place  as  soon  as  the  fu-e  broke  out.  Another  man,  who  ran  in 
after  the  oxygen  of  the  air  had  been  nearly  consumed  with  the 
fire,  fell  down  senseless  before  he  could  get  out,  and  was  res- 
cued from  death  by  the  people  who  were  near.  2.  We  had  a 
strong  proof  of  the  kindness  of  our  neighbors  of  every  de- 
scription, both  European  and  native,  and  of  the  lively  sympa- 
thy of  all  who  knew  us,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  3. 
The  matrices  of  the  oriental  types,  and  the  punches,  are  all 
recovered,  and  the  presses  saved,  so  that,  with  the  metal  of  the 
types  which  was  melted  down  in  the  fire,  we  are  able  imme- 
diately to  commence  casting,  and  shall,  in  another  fortnight,  if 
nothing  unforeseen  intervene,  be  able  to  begin  printing  again 
in  one  language.  Another  month  will  enable  us  to  begin 
in  another,  and  I  trust  that  in  six  months  our  loss  in  oriental 
types  will  be  repaired.  4.  The  printing-offices  in  Calcutta 
have  sold  or  lent  us  a  few  English  types,  so  that  we  may  hob- 
ble on  till  you  can  send  the  articles  ordered  by  our  over-land 
letter  of  yesterday.  5.  Our  paper  manufactory  is  not  injured, 
so  that  we  shall  not  be  stopped  for  want  of  country  paper,  on 
which  to  print  our  own  editions  of  the  Scriptures.  6.  Our 
premises  are  not  injured,  except  the  printing-office  ;  and,  prov- 


352  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

identially,  a  large  building,  larger  than  the  one  consumed, 
whicli  we  had  let  to  a  merchant  of  Calcutta,  as  a  warehouse, 
was  vacated  only  four  days  before  the  fire,  so  that  we  are  not 
under  the  necessity  of  building  before  we  can  begin  work.  7. 
None  of  our  sources  of  income  are  dried  up,  and,  besides  our 
regular  income  from  the  school  and  the  college,  we  have  pretty 
large  funds  which  we  can  use.  Mr.  Brown  wished  us  to  di-aw 
immediately  upon  the  Bible  Society,  for  the  £3000  voted  us 
for  the  ensuing  three  years ;  but  1  trust  we  shall  get  through 
without  that.  The  loss  of  manuscripts  of  the  Telinga,  Kur- 
nata,  Shikh,  Sanscrit,  and  Assam  languages,  is  a  very  heavy 
loss;  but  as  the  travelling  a  road  the  second  time,  however 
painful  it  may  be,  is  usually  done  with  greater  ease  and  cer- 
tainty than  when  we  travel  it  for  the  first  time,  so  I  trust  the 
work  will  lose  nothing  in  real  value,  nor  will  it  be  much  re- 
tarded by  this  distressing  event,  for  we  shall  begin  printing  in 
all  these  languages  the  moment  types  are  prepared.  The 
ground  must  be  labored  over  again,  but  we  are  not  discouraged  : 
indeed,  the  work  is  already  begun  again  in  every  language : 
we  are  cast  down,  but  not  in  despair.  8.  We  have  all  of  us 
been  supported  under  the  afiliction,  and  preserved  from  dis- 
couragement. To  me,  the  consideration  of  the  divine  sove- 
reignty and  wisdom  has  been  very  supporting ;  and,  indeed, 
I  have  usually  been  supported  under  afflictions  by  feeling  that 
I  and  mine  are  in  the  hands  of  an  infinitely  wise  God.  I  en- 
deavored to  improve  this  our  affliction,  last  Lord's  day,  from 
Psalm  xlvi,  10,  'Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God.'  I  princi- 
pally dwelt  upon  two  ideas,  viz. :  1.  God  has  a  sovereign  right 
to  dispose  of  us  as  he  pleases.  2.  We  ought  to  acquiesce  in 
all  that  God  does  with  us  and  to  us.  To  enable  us  to  do  which, 
I  recommended  realizing  meditation  upon  the  perfections  of 
God,  upon  his  providence,  and  upon  his  promises,  including 
the  prophecies  of  the  extension  of  his  kingdom. 

'  W.  Caret,' 


memoir  of  dr.  caret.  353 

Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'March  25,  1812. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'  I  shall  now  repeat  the  particulars  of  our  late  disaster. 
Brother  Marshman  wrote  you  an  account  of  it,  and  has  written 
about  it  to  brother  Fuller.  The  loss  is  very  great,  and  will 
long  be  severely  felt ;  yet  I  can  think  of  a  hundred  circum- 
stances which  would  have  made  it  much  more  difficult  to  bear. 
The  Lord  has  smitten  us ;  he  had  a  right  to  do  so,  and  we  deserve 
his  corrections.  I  wish  to  submit  to  his  sovereign  will,  nay, 
cordially  to  acquiesce  therein,  and  to  examine  myself  rigidly 
to  see  what  in  me  has  contributed  to  this  evil. 

'I  now, however,  turn  to  the  bright  side;  and  here  I  might 
mention  what  still  remains  to  us,  and  the  merciful  circumstan- 
ces which  attend  even  this  stroke  of  God's  rod ;  but  I  will 
principally  notice  what  will  tend  to  cheer  the  heart  of  every 
one  who  feels  for  the  cause  of  God.  Our  loss,  so  far  as  I  can 
see,  is  reparable  in  a  much  shorter  time  than  1  should  at  first 
have  supposed.  The  Tamul  fount  of  types  was  the  first  that 
we  began  to  recast.  I  expect  it  will  be  finished  by  the  end  of 
this  week,  just  a  fortnight  after  it  was  begun.  The  next  will 
be  the  small  Deva  Naguree,  for  the  Hindostani  Scriptures,  and, 
next,  the  larger  for  the  Sanscrit.  I  hope  this  will  be  completed 
in  another  month.  The  other  founts,  viz.,  Bengali,  Orissa, 
Shikh,  Telinga,  Singalese,  Mahratta,  Burman,  Kashmeerian, 
Arabic,  Persian,  and  Chinese,  will  follow  in  order,  and  will 
probably  be  finished  in  six  or  seven  months,  except  the  Chi- 
nese, which  will  take  more  than  a  year  to  replace  it.  I  trust, 
therefore,  that  we  shall  not  be  greatly  delayed.  Our  English 
works  will  be  delayed  the  longest ;  but,  in  general,  they  are  of 
the  least  importance.  Of  MSS.  burnt,  I  have  suffered  the 
most ;  that  is,  what  was  actually  prepared  by  me,  and  what 
owes  its  whole  revision  for  the  press  to  me,  comprise  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  MSS.  consumed.  The  ground  must  be  trodden 
over  again,  but  no  delay  in  printing  need  arise  from  that.  The 
translations  are  all  written  out  rough  first,  by  pundits,  in  the 
difl^erent  languages,  except  the  Sanscrit,  which  is  dictated  by 
me  to  an  amanuensis.  The  Shikh,  Mahratta,  Hindostani,  Oris- 
sa, Telinga,  Assam,  and  Kurnata,  are  retranslating  in  rough, 
31* 


354  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

by  pundits  who  have  been  long  accustomed  to  their  work,  and 
have  gone  over  the  ground  before.  I  follow  them  in  revise, 
the  chief  part  of  which  is  done  as  the  sheets  pass  through  the 
press,  and  is  by  far  the  heaviest  part  of  the  work.  Of  the 
Sanscrit,  only  the  second  book  of  Samuel  and  the  first  book  of 
Kings  were  lost.  Scarcely  any  of  the  Orissa,  and  none  of  the 
Kashmeerian,  or  of  the  Burman  MSS.  were  lost.  Copy  for 
about  thirty  pages  of  my  Bengali  dictionary,  the  whole  copy 
of  a  Telinga  grammar,  part  of  the  copy  of  the  grammar  of 
Punjabee  or  Shikh  language,  and  all  the  materials  which  I  had 
been  long  collecting  for  a  dictionary  of  all  the  languages  de- 
rived from  the  Sanscrit,  were  destroyed.  I  hope,  however, 
to  be  enabled  to  repair  the  loss,  and  to  complete  my  favorite 
scheme,  if  my  life  be  prolonged. 

'  Yours,  &c.,  W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Rev.  Robert  Hall. 

'  Calcutta,  April  9,  1812. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'I  have  long  wished  to  write  to  you,  and  should  have  repeat- 
edly done  it  before  now,  had  it  not  been  for  an  unconquerable 
aversion  to  letter-writing,  which  gives  force  to  every  little 
excuse  sufficient  to  keep  me  from  making  the  attempt. 

'  Once  or  twice  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  favors 
from  you,  which  I  believe  I  acknowledged.  It  would,  however, 
much  gratify  me,  if  you  would  enter  into  a  more  regular  cor- 
respondence with  me.  Several  things  make  such  a  correspond- 
ence peculiarly  desirable,  and  conspire  to  induce  me  to  re- 
quest it. 

'  1.  There  are  many  difficulties  occur  in  translating  the  word 
of  God,  and  in  my  other  literary  pursuits,  which  I  should  feel 
a  pleasure  in  communicating  to  you,  and  in  receiving  your 
observations  on  them,  which,  joined  to  the  remarks  1  may 
meet  with  from  other  friends,  might  enable  me  to  correct  many 
errors,  to  remove  many  difficulties,  and  to  clear  up  some  things 
which  at  present  appear  obscure. 

'  2.  You  are,  I  find,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Leicester,  a  place  I 
always  think  of  with  pleasure,  and  a  people  in  whose  best 
concerns  I  feel  a   deep   interest.     Every   account,  therefore 


MEMOIR    OF  DR.    CAREY.  355 

which  respects  that  people,  will  be  highly  gratifying  to  me, 
and  calls  up  some  of  the  tenderest  feelings  of  my  heart. 

'  3.  I  doubt  not  but  you  feel  a  deep  interest  in  the  work  in 
which  I  and  my  colleagues  are  engaged,  and  wish,  therefore, 
to  request  you  to  take  as  active  a  part  as  possible  in  furthering 
the  cause  in  Europe.  Other  reasons  1  could  mention,  but  I  am 
assured  these  are  sufficient. 

'Notwithstanding  we  have,  within  the  last  years,  had  some 
of  the  most  heavy  afflictions  with  which  this  mission  has  ever 
been  visited,  yet  its  affairs  were  never  in  a  more  promising 
state,  if  I  except  one  particular,  viz.,  a  well-furnished  printing- 
office,  which,  I  hope,  will  very  soon  be  so  recovered  as  to 
enable  us  to  go  forward  with  our  undertakings. 

'  There  are  now  belonging  to  the  mission  twelve  churches, 
viz.,  three  in  Hindostan,  at  Agra,  Digga,  and  Patna ;  five  in 
Bengal,  viz.,  Dinagepore,  Gomalti,  Cutwa,  Jessore,  and  Ser- 
ampore,  including  Calcutta ;  one  in  Orissa;  one  at  Rangoon; 
one  in  Java ;  at  Samarang ;  and  one  in  the  Isle  of  Mauritius 
and  Bourbon.  Some  of  these  are  in  a  prosperous  state,  and 
only  two  which  are  very  low.  There  is  a  prospect  of  several 
other  churches  being  formed.  I  only  meant,  when  I  began,  to 
request  your  correspondence,  but  have  begun  to  weary  you 
with  details.  I  now  leave  off.  Believe  me,  that  I  am 
yours,  &c., 

'W.  Caret.' 

The  kindness  of  Christian  ministers  and  others  in  India, 
under  their  recent  calamities,  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
Dr.  Carey's  mind.     He  adverts  to  it  in  the  following  manner : 

Dr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Calcutta,  July  30,  1812. 

'  On  this  occasion  we  experienced  the  tender  sympathy  of 
many  friends,  and  not  a  few  stood  ready  to  contribute  towards 
repairing  the  loss.  Rev.  Mr.  Thomason  put  round  a  subscrip- 
tion immediately,  which  amounted  to  more  than  seven  thousand 
rupees.  Indeed,  we  have  always  experienced  his  friendship, 
and  readiness  to  do  us  all  the  good  he  could. 


356  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

'  We  began  to  attempt  a  recovery  from  our  ashes  the  day 
after  the  fire,  and  immediately  set  the  letter-founders  to  work 
to  recast  the  types,  and  have  ever  since  kept  them  at  work ; 
the  consequence  of  which  is,  that  we  are  now  enabled  to  print 
in  Bengali,  Sanscrit,  Hindostani,  Punjabi,  Mahratta,  Orissa  and 
Tamul.  The  fount  of  Singalese  is  almost  finished,  the  Persian 
is  in  considerable  forwardness,  and,  so  far  as  relates  to  the 
eastern  languages,  I  hope  we  shall,  by  the  end  of  the  year,  be 
nearly  as  well  furnished  as  we  were  before.  Our  loss  in  Eng- 
lish types  and  English  paper,  however,  cannot  be  replaced  till 
you  are  able  to  send  us  out  a  supply. 

'  I  am  fifty-one  years  old  the  seventeenth  of  this  month.  I 
have  been  now  almost  nineteen  years  in  the  work  of  the  mis- 
sion, and  seem  as  if  I  had  but  just  gotten  over  the  principal 
obstructions  which  blocked  up  the  threshold  of  the  door. 

'  I  am,  very  aflTectionately  yours,  W.  Caret.' 


Dr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'I  was  never  so  closely  employed  as  at  present.  I  have  just 
finished  for  the  press  my  Telinga  grammar;  the  last  sheet  of 
the  Punjabi  grammar  is  in  the  press.  I  am  getting  forward 
with  my  Kurnata  grammar ;  indeed  it  is  nearly  ready  for  the 
press.  I  am  also  preparing  materials  for  grammars  of  the 
Kashmeer,  Pushto,  and  Billochi  languages,  and  have  begun 
digesting  those  for  the  Orissa.  The  care  of  publishing  and 
correcting  Felix's  Burman  grammar  lies  on  me,  besides  learn- 
ing all  these  languages,  correcting  the  translations  in  them, 
writing  a  Bengali  dictionary,  and  all  my  pastoral  and  collegiate 
duties.  I  therefore  can  scarcely  call  an  hour  my  own  in  a 
week.  1  however  rejoice  in  my  work,  and  delight  in  it.  It  is 
clearing  the  way,  and  providing  materials  for  those  who  suc- 
ceed us  to  work  upon.  I  have  much  for  which  to  bless  the 
Lord.  I  trust  all  my  children  know  the  Lord  in  truth.  I  have 
every  family  and  domestic  blessing  I  can  wish,  and  many  more 
than  I  could  have  expected.  The  work  of  the  Lord  prospers. 
The  church  at  Calcutta  is  now  become  very  large,  and  still 
increases.  The  mission,  notwithstanding  its  heavy  losses,  has 
been  supported,  and  we  have  been  enabled,  within  one  year 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  357 

from  a  very  desolating  calamity,  to  carry  on  our  printing  to  a 
greater  extent  than  before  it  took  place.  I  wish  we  could  have 
communicated  to  you  our  real  situation,  on  the  day  you  receiv- 
ed the  news  of  the  fire.  It  would  have  greatly  raised  your 
drooping  spirits  could  you  have  looked  forward,  or  could  you 
have  known  how  we  had  been  supported  till  then. 

\  '  I  am,  very  affectionately  yours,        W.  Carey.' 

To  HIS  Sisters. 

'  July  20th,  18U. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'Could  you  see  me  driving  on  from  morning  till  late  at 
night  every  day,  you  would  be  thankful  for  my  health.  1  am 
sometimes  weary,  but  I  rejoice  in  the  daily  approaching  pros- 
pect of  giving  the  Bible  to  the  various  nations  of  the  East. 
The  call  for  the  Scriptures  is  so  great,  that  all  our  exertions, 
with  ten  presses  constantly  at  work,  cannot  sui)ply  the  de- 
mand. 

'  We  must  not,  my  dear  sisters,  expect  to  go  through  this 
world  without  afflictions  of  one  kind  or  another.  Let  us  make 
up  our  minds  to  suffer  patiently  all  his  will,  and  always  cast 
our  care  upon  him,  for  he  careth  for  us. 

*  *  *  #  #  #■#  *  # 

'  Your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Carey.' 

'  .August  3,  1814. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'I  rejoice  greatly  in  the  triumph  which  the  cause  of  God  has 
gained  over  its  opponents  in  the  late  debates  in  parliament  on 
the  renewing  of  the  charter.  I  wonder  at  the  barefaced  impu- 
dence with  which  the  cause  of  missions  was  opposed,  but  they 
were  repulsed  with  shame  and  dishonor.  The  cause  of  mis- 
sions and  of  the  Bible  is  the  cause  of  God,  and  will  prevail  to 
the  lasting  ignominy  of  all  who  oppose  it. 

'The  Lord  has  done  great  things  for  India,  both  here  and  in 
England.  Here  religion,  which  formerly  had  scarcely  an  ex- 
istence, lives  and  prevails. 


358  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

'  I  am,  through  divine  mercy,  well.  My  necessary  labors 
leave  me  no  time  to  write.  But  these  labors  are  themselves  a 
reward.  I  look  round  on  the  nations  on  all  sides ;  see  trans- 
lations of  the  Bible  either  begun  or  finished  in  twenty-five 
languages  at  our  house,  and  hope  to  be  able  to  secure  the  other 
languages  spoken  around  us,  when  I  hope  all  will  hear  in  their 
own  tongues  the  wonderful  works  of  God. 

'  I  am  your  affectionate  brother,        W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  August  4,  1814. 

'  The  cause  of  the  Lord  still  goes  forward,  and  I  trust  will 
continue  so  to  do.  Our  encouragements  are  great.  I  think 
the  number  of  languages  into  which  the  Scriptures  are  trans- 
lated, or  under  translation  by  us,  is  twenty-five,  but  I  will  enu- 
merate them : 

'  1.  Sanscrit,  printing  advanced  to  2  Chronicles,  translating 
to  Jeremiah. 

'2.  Bengali,  printed. 

'3.  Orissa,  last  volume  in  the  press. 

*  4.  Mahratta,  printed  to  2  Samuel. 
'5.  Hindostani,       ditto. 

'  6.  Shikh  or  Punjabi,  N.  T.  printed  within  a  few  chapters. 

'  7.  Assamee,  printed  to  the  middle  of  Mark. 

'8.  Khase,  printed  to  the  middle  of  Matthew. 

'9.  Chinese,  Genesis  in  the  press. 

'  10.  Burman,  Matthew       do. 

'  11.  Brij,  Luke  do. 

'  12.  Kashmeerian,  Matt.    do. 

'13.  Nepola,  do.       do. 

'  14.  Bikhaneera,      do.       do. 

*  15.  Oadaypoora,      do.       do. 

*  16.  Mariva,  do.  do. 
'17.  Jypoora,  do.  do. 
'18.  Pushto,  Mark  do. 
'19.  Billochi,  Matt.  do. 
'20.  Kunkuna,  do.  do. 
'21.  Telinga,  Luke  in  the  press. 
'  22.  Kurnata,  Matthew   do. 

'  23.  Gujeratti,  printing  not  begun,  translation  far  advanced. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  359 

«24.  Wuch,  printing  not  begun,  translation  far  advanced. 
'25.  Sindhee,       do.  do. 

'26.  Maldivian,    do.  do. 

'I  see  it  is  twenty-six. 

'Farewell,  my  dear  brother.  The  Lord  has  hitherto  en- 
couraged both  of  us ;  and  I  trust  will  carry  on  his  work  so  as 
yet  to  make  us  rejoice  more  and  more.  Give  my  love  to  all 
who  know  or  care  about  me. 

'  Yours,  very  affectionately,  W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Fuller. 

'  Serampore,  May  17,  1815. 
'My  dear  Brother  Fuller, 

'  Through  divine  goodness,  I  still  live,  and  am  in  as  good  a 
state  of  health  as,  perhaps,  I  ever  was  :  well  would  it  be  if  my 
soul  were  in  as  good  a  state  as  my  body.  I  think  I  trust  in  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  I  cannot  say  that  I  ever  get  further  than  to  cast 
my  perishing  soul  from  day  to  day  on  the  Savior  of  sinners. 
What  I  have  always  lamented  as  the  great  crime  of  which  I  am 
constantly  guilty,  is  want  of  love  to  Christ.  That  fervency  of 
s[)irit  which  many  feel,  that  constant  activity  in  the  ways  of 
God,  and  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness  which 
constitutes  the  life  and  soul  of  religion,  I  scarcely  feel  at  all, 
or  if  I  do  perceive  a  small  degree  of  it,  its  continuance  is  so 
short,  and  its  operations  so  feeble,  that  I  can  scarcely  consider 
it  as  forming  a  part  of  my  character.  I  live  a  kind  of  me- 
chanical life,  going  through  the  labors  of  each  day  as  I  should 
go  through  any  other  work,  but  in  a  great  measure  destitute  of 
that  energy  which  makes  every  duty  a  pleasure. 

'  At  the  present  time  my  labor  is  greater  than  at  any  former 
period.  We  have  now  translations  of  the  Bible  going  forward 
in  twenty-seven  languages,  all  of  which  are  in  the  press  except 
two  or  three.  The  labor  of  correcting  and  revising  all  of 
them  lies  on  me.  I  have  lately  been  fully  convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  having  some  brother  associated  with  me  in  this 
department  of  the  work,  who  shall  be  in  some  manner  ini- 
tiated into  my  ideas ;  and  if  I  should  be  laid  aside  by  sickness, 
or  removed  by  death,  should  take  charge  of  this  department 
of  the  work.     I  think,  from   the   account   given   by  brother 


360  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

Ryland  of  brother  Yates,  that  he  will  be  as  fit  a  person  as 
any  I  have  seen,  and  from  what  I  have  already  w^itnessed  of 
his  personal  religion,  his  quiet  spirit,  and  his  habits  of 
diligence,  I  am  much  inclined  to  associate  him  with  myself  in 
the  translations.  I  have  mentioned  my  wish  to  the  other 
brethren,  w^ho  approve  of  the  step. 

'  Yours,  very  affectionately,  W.  Carey.' 


Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'  October  14,  1815. 
*My  dear  Brother  R., 

'Yours,  of  May  2, 1  received  a  few  days  ago,  and  at  the  same 
time  received  an  extract  from  a  Cambridge  paper  copied  at 
Plymouth,  by  an  officer  of  the  ship,  Mr.  Johnstone,  who  is 
acquainted  with  us,  informing  us  of  the  death  of  dear  brother 
Fuller. 

'  Considering  the  extensive  countries  opened  to  us  in  the 
East,  I  entreat,  I  implore  our  dear  brethren  in  England,  not  to 
think  of  the  petty  shop-keeping  plan  of  lessening  the  number 
of  stations,  so  as  to  bring  the  support  of  them  within  the 
bounds  of  their  present  income,  but  to  bend  all  their  attention 
and  exertions  to  the  great  object  of  increasing  their  finances, 
to  meet  the  pressing  demand  that  divine  Providence  makes  on 
them.  If  your  objects  are  large,  the  public  will  contribute  to 
their  support ;  if  you  contract  them,  their  liberality  will  im- 
mediately contract  itself  proportionably.  A  subscription  equal 
to  one  farthing  a  week,  for  all  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain 
who  are  grown  up,  viz.,  eight  millions  of  farthings,  or  a  penny 
a  week  from  a  fourth  of  them,  would  produce  £8,333,  6s.  8d. 
per  annum.  Let  only  this  sum  come  to  the  Baptist  mission, 
surely  not  too  much  to  expect,  and  all  the  objects  will  be 
accomplished  for  which  European  subscriptions  are  wanted, 
translations  excepted. 

'  The  translations  of  the  Scriptures  are  now  become  so  nu- 
merous that  the  work  is  of  the  first  importance.  By  constant 
attention  to  the  object,  and  the  smiles  of  God  upon  our  under- 
taking, we  have  now  collected  at  Serampore  a  large  body  of 
men  from  all  parts  of  India,  who  are  employed  in  translating 
the  word,  and  who,  if  dismissed,  could  not  be  easily  obtained 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  361 

again.  These  men  write  out  the  rough  copy  of  the  translation 
into  their  respective  languages;  some  translating  from  the 
Bengali,  others  from  the  Hindostani,  and  others  from  the  San- 
scrit, as  they  are  best  acquainted  with  them.  They  consult  with 
one  another,  and  other  pundits  who  have  been  employed  for 
several  years  in  correcting  the  press  and  copy,  and  who  almost 
know  the  Scriptures  by  heart.  They,  therefore,  form  the 
idiom;  after  which  I  examine  and  alter  the  whole,  where 
necessary,  and  upon  every  occasion  have  men  born  and 
brougiit  up  in  the  countries  themselves  to  consult.  The  num- 
ber of  these  languages  far  exceeds  what  I  thought  it  till  very 
lately,  for  till  lately  J,  like  almost  every  one  else,  thought  all 
the  north  and  west  of  India  to  be  occupied  by  the  Hindi  or 
Hindostani,  but  T  now  doubt  whether  any  country  be  ex- 
clusively so.  What  have  hitherto  been  accounted  varieties  of 
the  Hindostani  and  vulgar  varieties  of  jargon,  are  in  reality 
distinct  languages,  all  derived,  it  is  true,  from  the  same  source, 
the  Sanscrit,  but  so  differently  terminated  and  inflected  as  to 
make  them  unintelligible  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding 
countries.  The  uniformity  of  the  words  in  all  these  languages, 
makes  it  comparatively  easy  for  me  to  judge  of  the  correct- 
ness of  the  translations,  and  makes  that  quite  possible  which, 
to  one  unacquainted  with  Sanscrit,  and  the  mutation  of  word* 
in  the  current  languages,  would  be  impossible. 

#*#*#■#* 

'Yours,  &c,,  W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'  Februai-y  22,  1816. 
'My  dear  Brother  Ryland, 

'Yours  of  July  2,  18] 5, 1  have  received.  I  am  glad  you 
have  taken  the  office  of  secretary  upon  yourself;  but  you  will 
not  live  for  ever,  and  I  think  it  is  very  important,  while  you 
live,  to  take  such  steps  as  shall  prevent  disagreeable  circum- 
stances from  arising  after  your  death.  I  have  thought  much 
on  the  subject,  and  will  say  what  appears  to  me  desirable. 

'  The  office  of  secretary,  when  in  the  hands  of  our  dear 
brother  Fuller,  included  a  mass  of  influence  and  power  which 
properly  belongs  to  the  Society  itself.     The  secretary,  how- 
ever, should  be  the  mere  organ  of  the  Society.     While  brother 
32 


362  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Fuller  lived,  there  was  no  danger  of  the  power  he  possessed 
behig  wrongly  used;  nor  do  I  thmk  you  will  misemploy  it. 
But  the  office  must  devolve  on  others  after  your  death.  I 
therefore  recommend  the  so  modelling  and  enlarging  the  So- 
ciety, that  all  its  acts  shall  originate  from  itself,  and  that  the 
secretary  be,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  mere  officer  to  record 
the  transactions  and  resolutions  of  the  Society,  and  to  com- 
municate them  to  the  persons  whom  they  concern. 

'Suppose  the  Society,  instead  of  being  confined  to  one  part 
of  England,  were  to  be  made  co-extensive  with  England  and 
Scotland,  and  the  whole  country  to  be  divided  into  districts, 
and  all  the  churches  in  each  district  to  choose  a  number  of 
the  most  active,  wise,  and  holy  men  within  them,  to  act  as  a 
committee  of  that  district ;  from  these  others  should  be  chosen 
to  represent  them  at  a  general  meeting  of  all  the  district 
divisions,  once  or  oftener  every  year,  at  which  meeting  every 
thing  regarding  the  plans  of  the  Society  should  be  finally 
settled.  The  present  associations  might  answer  every  purpose 
of  districts,  and  the  annual  meeting  of  the  denomination  in 
London  might  answer  every  purpose  of  the  general  meeting. 
Each  district  might,  if  necessary,  have  a  secretary,  who  should 
correspond  with  the  chief  secretary.  It  would  not  be  always 
necessary  to  have  a  meeting  even  for  special  business ;  the  sec- 
retary, whom  for  distinction's  sake  I  call  the  chief  secretary, 
might  be  empowered  to  send  a  circular  letter  to  each  of  the 
secretaries  of  the  districts  upon  special  occasions,  and  thus  in 
ten  days  he  might  get  tbe  opinion  of  almost  all  the  districts 
upon  any  subject ;  a  few  printed  letters,  as  many  as  were 
wanted,  would  answer  the  purpose,  and  might  be  sent  to  all 
at  once.  We  carry  on  almost  all  })ublic  business  in  this  manner 
in  India.  This  plan  might  be  modified  in  any  way  as  might 
appear  necessary ;  but  it  would  have  the  effijct  of  making  the 
secretary's  office  so  diflTerent  from  what  it  necessarily  is  at 
present,  as  to  make  it  unlikely  that  a  canvass  for  it  should  take 
place.  All  this,  however,  you  can  better  arrange  than  I  can 
possibly  contrive ;  but  something  appears  to  me  highly  neces- 
sary. Yours,  &c., 

'W.Carey.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  363 


SECTION    IV. 


FORMATION    OF    THE    AGRICULTURAL    SOCIETY  IN  INDIA — DEATH 

OF  MRS.  CAREY PLEASING    NOTICE    OF  RELIGIOUS  AND  OTHER 

IMPROVEMENT    IN  INDIA  AND  THROUGHOUT  THE   WORLD REC- 
OLLECTION OF  HIS  RELIGIOUS  AND  MINISTER'iAL  ASSOCIATIONS 

IN    ENGLAND IS     APPOINTED    TRANSLATOR     OF     GOVERNMENT 

REGULATIONS DEATH     OF     MR.     WARD ELECTION      TO      THE 

LONDON   LINN^AN,  GEOLOGICAL,  AND    HORTICULTURAL    SOCIE- 
TIES  ACCOUNT     OF     HIS     ACCIDENT    AND    SEVERE    ILLNESS 

DEATH  OF  HIS   SON  FELIX DEATH  OF  DR.  RYLAND. 

In  1817  there  commenced  a  misunderstanding  betv^een  the 
Serampore  missionaries  and  the  Parent  Society.  The  latter 
recommended  a  new  and  more  satisfactory  investment  of  the 
mission  property  ;  and  that,  in  connexion  with  the  missionaries 
themselves,  a  number  of  gentleman  in  England  should  be 
associated  in  the  trust.  To  this  the  missionaries  objected; 
and  issued  a  declaration  from  the  Danish  court  of  Serampore, 
expository  of  their  own  views,  and  investing  the  property 
accordingly.  To  the  statements  and  design  of  this  instrument, 
the  Society,  in  their  turn,  could  not  feel  consentient.  Expla- 
nations followed,  which,  though  they  mitigated  the  evil,  and 
somewhat  arrested  its  progress,  yet  left  it  essentially  unsolved. 
The  primary  matter  of  dispute  remaining  unadjusted,  unity  of 
counsel  and  feeling  was  impaired ;  and  other  economical  dif- 
ficulties supervening,  in  1827  the  Serampore  missionaries  and 
the  Parent  Institution  separated  their  connexion. 

If  I  were  writing  the  history  of  the  Baptist  Mission,  it  might 
be  expected  that  I  should  trace  out  the  merits  of  this  contro- 
versy, and  exhibit  its  facts  and  events  in  detail.  But  I  am 
writing  the  life  of  an  individual ;  and,  being  convinced  that 
neither  his  character  was  affected  nor  his  usefulness  com- 
promised, by  the  views  he  entertained  and  the  course  he 
adopted,  I  have  not  thought  it  incumbent  on  me  to  dwell  upon 
circumstances,  and  renew  a  dispute  calculated  to  awaken  no 


364  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

pleasurable  feeling,  or  serve  any  useful  purpose.  Moreover, 
as,  from  the  very  origin  of  this  controversy  to  its  last  discus- 
sion and  throughout  all  the  interests  it  involved,  I,  with  the 
brethren  with  whom  I  acted,  entertained  opposite  convictions 
from  my  honored  relative,  and  committed  myself  to  a  different 
procedure,  I  should  deem  it  ungenerous  and  impertinent  to 
make  this  memoir  the  vehicle  of  my  own  ideas,  or  the  instru- 
ment of  my  vindication.  Beyond,  therefore,  the  above  very 
brief  notice,  I  willingly  abstain  from  any  analysis  even  of  the 
controversy.  Enough  has  been  written  by  each  party,  it  is 
presumed,  fairly  to  expound,  if  not  exhaust,  all  its  legitimate 
topics.  If  any  are  of  another  mind,  I  leave  to  them  to  find  an 
occasion,  and  select  their  own  mode  for  reviving  it. 

Sensitive,  and  decided  too,  as  Dr.  Carey  was  known  to  be 
upon  the  subject  above  referred  to,  the  ensuing  section  will 
afford  abundant  evidence,  that  the  difference  between  himself 
and  his  junior  brethren  did  not  interfere  with  the  current  of 
his  affection  towards  them,  nor  render  him  insensible  to  the 
importance  of  their  labors. 

To  Dr.  Ryland. 

'  Serampore,  Oct.  23,  1820. 

'  I  bless  God  I  am  as  healthy  as  I  ever  remember  to  have 
been.  I  have,  for  some  time  back,  had  much  at  heart  the 
forming  of  an  agricultural  society  in  India.  Some  months  ago 
I  had  a  conversation  with  Lady  Hastings  upon  the  subject, 
who  encouraged  me  to  make  an  attempt.  In  consequence  of 
which,  I  published  the  inclosed  prospectus,  and  circulated  it 
throughout  India.  The  result  is,  that  on  the  14th  of  Septem- 
ber an  agricultural  society  was  formed,  which  consists  already 
of  about  fifty  members.  By  desire  of  the  society  I  wrote  to 
Lord  Hastings,  requesting  him  to  become  its  patron,  to  which 
he  acceded.  Several  of  the  most  opulent  natives  have  joined 
it ;  and  I  hope  it  will  ultimately  be  of  great  benefit  to  the 
country,  and  contribute  to  prepare  its  inhabitants  for  the  time 
when  'they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plough-shares,  and 
their  spears  into  pruning-hooks.' 

'  1  am  very  affectionately  yours, 

'W.  Carey.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  365 

Dr.  Carey  to  his  Sisters. 

'  Serampore,  Jime  4,  1821. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'I  have  the  sad  office  of  informing  you  of  the  great  bereave- 
ment with  which  it  has  pleased  God  to  afflict  me.  My  dear 
wife  was  removed  by  death  on  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  May. 
To  me  the  loss  is  such  that  earth  cannot  make  it  good ;  but  to 
her  the  gain  is  infinite  glory  and  happiness. 

'A  little  time  ago  the  king  of  Denmark  sent  to  brother 
Marshman,  brother  Ward,  and  me,  each  a  letter  signed  with 
his  own  hand,  expressing  his  full  approbation  of  our  labors,, 
accompanied  with  a  gold  medal  for  each  of  us ;  and  in  a  fort- 
night afterwards  arrived  an  order  to  convey  to  us,  for  the  use 
of  the  college,  a  large  house  and  ground  belonging  to  his 
majesty,  formerly  occupied  by  one  of  the  members  of  council, 
to  whom  an  increase  of  salary  was  granted  as  an  equivalent. 

'Your  very  affectionate  brother,  W.  Carey.' 


To  Mr.  Burls. 


October  5,  1821. 


'God,  who  does  all  tilings  well,  however  painful  to  us,  has 
seen  good  to  remove  my  dear  partner  to  a  better  world.  I  was 
deprived  of  her  on  the  30th  of  May  last.  My  loss  is  irrepar- 
able. If  there  ever  was  a  true  Christian  in  this  world,-  she 
was  one.  We  had  frequently  conversed  upon  the  separation 
which  death  would  make,  and  both  desired  that,  if  it  were  the 
will  of  God,  she  might  be  first  removed ;  and  so  it  was.  Her 
illness  was  short,  and  her  trust  in  the  Redeemer  was  sincere 
and  firm.  .  Yours,  &c., 

'W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'  July  m,  1822. 
'My  dear  Brother  Ryland, 

'  I  received  your  most  welcome  letter  a  few  days  ago.     The 
most  perfect  harmony  subsists,  as  far  as  I  know,  between  us 
and  the  younger  brethren,  the  Independents,  and  the  Episco- 
32* 


3tJ6  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

palians,  and  I  believe  a  divine  blessing  attends  all  our  labors. 
I  expect  to  receive  two  persons  into  the  church  to-day,  and  I 
believe  there  is  scarcely  a  month  in  which  there  are  not  ad- 
ditions to  more  than  one  church.  A  great  number  of  excel- 
lent pamphlets  are  printed  by  one  or  another  in  the  Bengali, 
and  some  other  languages,  which  contribute  not  a  little  to  the 
edification  of  believers,  and  to  the  stirring  up  of  a  spirit  of 
inquiry  in  a  people  whose  most  prominent  feature  is  apathy. 
There  has  also  been  a  great  change  in  the  circumstances  of 
the  natives  themselves.  There  are  now  three  newspapers 
printed  in  the  Bengali  language,  and  one  in  Persian.  In  these, 
many  things  connected  with  heathenism,  as  well  as  Christian- 
ity, are  discussed  by  the  natives  themselves,  and  facts  brought 
to  light  respecting  the  blackness  of  idolatry,  which  might 
otherwise  have  been  sought  for  in  vain.  That  spirit  of  estab- 
lishing and  maintaining  schools,  especially  charity  schools, 
which  now  prevails,  and  is  much  increasing  among  the  na- 
tives, some  of  the  chief  men  for  wealth  and  respectability 
among  them  coming  forth  and  voluntarily  taking  an  active 
part  in  these  institutions,  is  to  me  a  matter  of  great  encour- 
agement. They  now  unite  with  Europeans,  and  Europeans 
with  them,  in  promoting  benevolent  undertakings,  without 
servility  on  their  parts,  or  domination  on  ours.  God  is  doing 
great  things  for  India,  and  for  all  the  world. 

'About  fifty  years  ago,  one  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  was 
employed  in  writing  fourteen  volumes  of  lampoons  on  Chris- 
tianity. Voltaire,  in  all  his  multifarious,  much-read  publica- 
tions, constantly  made  Christianity  the  butt  of  his  ridicule  and 
sarcasm.  The  Encyclopsedists  attacked  Christianity  in  a  more 
grave  manner.  Gibbon  and  Hume  did  the  same ;  and  a  host 
of  novelists,  writers  for  the  theatre,  and  pamphleteers,  follow- 
ed in  the  rear ;  if  not  actually  saying,  as  the  Abbe  Barruel 
asserts,  'Ecrasez  I'Infame,'  at  least  acting  up  to  the  spirit  of 
what  is  charged  upon  them  by  that  writer.  Now,  sovereigns 
on  their  thrones  declare  themselves  on  the  side  of  religion, 
and  encourage  Bible  societies,  and  other  associations  to  do 
good ;  while  all  ranks,  from  the  noble  to  the  slave,  unite  to 
promote  the  same  object.  Who  that  loves  God  or  man  can 
behold  the  present  state  of  things  without  thanks  to  God? 

'  Be  assured,  my  dear  brother,  I  sincerely  sympathize  with 


MEMOIR    OP    DR.    CARET.  367 

you  in  all  your  trials,  as  far  as  I  know  them.  I  generally  ap- 
propriate two  mornings  in  the  week  to  pray  for  all  my  friends 
by  name,  especially  all  employed  in  missionary  work.  You 
are,  on  these  occasions,  frequently  remembered  by  me,  if  I  am 
not  deceived,  with  genuine  affection,  and  indeed  you  are  almost 
the  only  one  left  of  my  brethren  in  the  ministry  with  whom  I 
have  enjoyed  sweet  communion  in  England.  I  bless  God,  ] 
have  many  family  mercies  for  which  to  be  thankful. 

'  Yours,  very  affectionately,  W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Dyer. 

'Serampore,  Jan.  23,  1823. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'  Yours  of I  received  in  due  course  by  Miss  Pearce, 

and  also  the  copy  of  the  late  Mr.  Scott's  life.  That  work  I 
have  read  with  uncommon  interest,  as,  independently  of  those 
circumstances  which  constitute  the  biography  of  a  man  for 
whom  I  have  long  entertained  the  highest  esteem,  it  called  to 
my  recollection  a  great  number  of  others  to  which  I  had  been 
a  witness,  and  which,  at  the  time  they  took  place,  were  con- 
nected with  scenes  in  my  own  life  which  had  nearly  escaped 
my  memory.  When  I  first  was  brought  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth,  I  frequently  attended  Mr.  Scott's  preaching,  and 
never,  that  I  recollect,  without  benefit.  He,  on  his  pedestrian 
joiu-neys  from  Ravenstone  and  Olney,  to  Northampton,  usually 
called  on  a  relation  of  mine  at  Hackleton  to  rest  himself  on 
his  journey,  where  I  had  frequent  opportunities  of  conversa- 
tion with  him  upon  subjects  which  to  me  were  at  that  time  of 
very  great  importance,  and  frequently  received  such  hints  or 
observations  from  him,  which  I  remember  with  gratitude  at 
the  present  day.  I  was  not  then  acquainted  with  my  very 
dear  friends,  Fuller,  Dr.  Ryland,  Sutcliflf;and  Mr.  R.  Hall,  sen., 
from  whom  I  afterwards  received  those  advantages,  upon 
which  I  shall,  I  trust,  reflect  with  pleasure  through  an  eternal 
duration.  The  friendship  of  these  great  men  I  always  con- 
sider as  one  of  the  greatest  privileges  of  my  life,  and  feel 
deeply  humbled  that  I  have  turned  it  to  so  little  profit. 

'I  shall  now  mention  some  few  circumstances  relative  to  the 
progress  of  the  Redeemer's  cause  in  India.  The  most  promi- 
nent, and  one  of  the  most  encouraging  things  in  the  present 


3G8  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

State  of  Indian  missions,  is  the  harmony  which  subsists  be- 
tween all  engaged  in  the  work.  Excepting  the  mere  circum- 
stance of  a  separation  having  taken  place,  and  that  consequent 
distinct  attention  to  our  respective  churches  and  congregations, 
we  and  the  junior  brethren  are  cordially  united,  and  I  believe 
sincerely  love  one  another.  This  is  also  the  case  with  the  In- 
dependent brethren,  notwithstanding  two  of  their  number  were 
lately  baptized ;  one,  since  removed  to  glory,  by  brother  Law- 
son,  the  other,  now  living  at  Chinsura,  by  me.  The  same 
friendly  disposition  exists  between  the  evangelical  clergymen 
and  the  different  Dissenting  ministers. 

'  The  reports  from  the  different  stations  are  perhaps  as  grat- 
ifying as  they  ever  were  at  any  former  time.  The  additions 
within  the  last  year  were  very  considerable.  In  Jessore 
Jushuhur)  all  the  inhabitants  of  one  village,  except  five  houses, 
have  either  made  an  open  profession  of  the  gospel,  or  are  in 
a  pleasing  train  towards  it.  Several  villages  near  Dhacca 
(Dhaka)  are  full  of  inquirers  and  inquiry. 

'  Yours  affectionately,  W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'  Calcutta,  July  18,  1823. 
'My  dear  Brother  Ryland, 

?F  ^  tP  ^  ^  %  ^ 

'You  have  long  ere  this  heard  of  the  death  of  brother  Ward. 
His  end  was  honorable  to  the  gospel  he  professed,  but  we  se- 
verely feel  his  loss.  Sister  Ward  and  his  two  daughters  are 
well.  The  death  of  Felix  was,  and  still  is,  much  felt  by  me. 
He  was  highly  useful  in  correcting  several  versions  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  getting  them  through  the  press.  The  whole  of 
that,  in  addition  to  my  former  labors,  now  falls  on  me.  I  have 
also  engaged  to  correct  and  publish  the  labors  of  the  late  Mr. 
Schroeter,  who  was  employed  as  a  missionary  by  the  Church 
Missionary  Society.  As  he  was  paid  by  government,  his  man- 
uscripts were  claimed  by  it,  and  referred  to  me.  I  recom- 
mended the  printing  of  the  whole,  to  which  government 
assented.  They  consist  of  materials  for  a  grammar  and  dic- 
tionary of  the  Bhote  or  Thibet  language.  The  grammar  I  nuist 
write  from  his  materials  ;  and  the  interpretations  of  the  words 
in  the  dictionary,  being  in  the  Italian  language,  I  shall  have  to 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  369 

translate.  My  Bengali  dictionary  will  take  fully  another  year 
before  it  is  printed  off;  and,  to  add  to  my  labors,  I  received 
yesterday  from  government  an  appointment  to  a  new  office,  in 
addition  to  that  of  professor;  viz.,  that  of  translator  of  the  reg- 
ulations of  the  governor-general  in  council,  into  the  Bengali 
language. 

'  1  have  just  received  from  England  information  of  my  being 
elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Linnfean  Society  of  London ;  and  a 
member  of  the  Geological  Society  ;  and  a  diploma,  constituting 
me  a  corresponding  member  of  the  Horticultural  Society  of 
London.  I  bless  God,  that,  though  nearly  sixty-two  years  of 
age,  I  enjoy  nearly  as  good  health  as  T  ever  did,  and  get  through 
as  much  work  as  ever.  I  have  also  reason  to  acknowledge 
with  gratitude,  that  God  has  greatly  blessed  me  in  my  domes- 
tic relations.  My  present  wife  is  a  pious  woman,  and  I  have 
every  domestic  comfort  in  her  society  that  I  can  wish  for,  and 
far  more  than  I  expected. 

'At  the  late  festival  of  drawing  the  car  of  Juggunnath,  which 
ends  this  day,  I  think  our  brethren  have  dispersed  8000  pam- 
phlets in  the  Bengali  language.  Brother  Mack  was  highly 
gratified  by  seeing  one  man,  mounted  on  the  car,  near  the 
wooden  horses,  securing  a  tract  with  the  utmost  care.  We 
trust  some  of  this  seed  will  spring  up ;  at  any  rate,  the  gospel 
is  more  and  more  known  and  read  among  the  natives  of  India. 
'  I  am,  my  dear  brother,  very  affectionately  yours, 

'  W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'  Serampore,  Dec.  22,  1823. 
'My  dear  Brother  Ryland, 

'  I  once  more  address  you  from  the  land  of  the  living,  a 
mercy  which  about  two  months  ago  I  had  no  expectation  of, 
nor  did  any  one  expect  it  more,  nor  perhaps  so  much  as  my- 
self On  the  8th  of  October,  I  went  to  Calcutta  to  preach, 
and  returned  with  a  friend  about  midnight.  When  I  got  out 
of  the  boat,  close  to  our  own  premises,  my  foot  slipped,  and  I 
fell  ;  my  friend  also  fell  in  the  same  place.  I,  however,  per- 
ceived that  I  could  not  rise,  nor  even  make  the  smallest  effort 
to  rise.  The  boatman  carried  me  into  the  house,  and  laid  me 
on  a  couch,  and  my  friend,  who  was  a  medical  man,  examined 


370  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

my  hurt.  The  Danish  surgeon  was  called  in  the  mean  time, 
and  it  was  feared  that  the  hip-joint  had  received  a  violent  con- 
tusion, if  it  were  not  luxated.  They  examined  whether  both 
the  legs  were  of  the  same  length,  as  well  as  the  pain  I  suffered 
and  the  position  in  which  I  lay  would  permit,  and  the  next 
morning  recommenced  the  examination.  An  English  surgeon, 
Dr.  Mellis,  from  Calcutta,  who  was  on  a  visit  to  Barrackpore, 
hearing  of  the  hurt,  kindly  came  over  to  see  me,  and  having 
had  much  more  advantage,  or  rather  experience,  than  most,  in 
cases  of  that  nature,  examined  the  limb  most  carefully,  and 
concluded  that  it  was  not  luxated,  but  suspended  his  judgment 
till  he  could  see  me  stand  with  crutches,  which  two  days  after 
he  did,  and  was  assured  there  was  no  luxation.  The  day  after 
t  hurt,  and  the  two  next  days,  one  hundred  and  ten  leeches 
were  applied  to  the  thigh,  and,  except  excruciating  agony,  all 
appeared  to  be  favorable.  I  had  no  fever,  or  other  bad  symp 
tom,  till  about  the  tenth  day,  when  I  was  seized  with  a  fever 
which  was  highly  alarming;  the  pulse  one  hundred  and 
twenty  in  a  minute  for  several  days,  attended  with  a  violent 
cough  and  expectoration.  Lord  Amherst  very  kindly  sent  his 
own  surgeon.  Dr.  Abel,  to  report  my  state  of  health  to  him. 
From  all  these  afflictions  I  am,  through  mercy,  nearly  restored. 
I  am  still  very  weak,  and  the  injured  limb  is  very  painful.  I 
am  unable  to  walk  two  steps  without  crutches,  yet  my  strength 
is  sensibly  increasing,  and  Dr.  Mellis,  who  attended  me  during 
the  illness,  says  he  has  no  doubt  of  my  perfect  recovery. 

'During  my  confinement  in  October,  such  a  quantity  of  wa- 
ter came  down  from  the  Western  Hills,  that  it  laid  the  whole 
country,  for  about  one  hundred  miles  in  length  and  the  same 
in  breadth,  under  water.  The  Ganges  was  filled  by  the  flood 
so  as  to  be  spread  far  on  every  side.  Serampore  was  under 
water.  We  had  three  feet  water  in  our  garden  for  seven  or 
eight  days.  Almost  all  the  liouses  of  the  natives,  in  all  that 
vast  extent  of  country,  fell.  Their  cattle  were  swept  away, 
and  the  people,  men,  women  and  children,  some  gained  eleva- 
ted spots,  where  the  water  still  rose  so  high  as  to  threaten  them 
with  death  ;  others  climbed  trees,  and  some  floated  on  the 
roofs  of  their  ruined  houses.  One  of  the  Church  missiona- 
ries, Mr.  Jetter,  who  had  accompanied  Mr.  Thomason  and  some 
other  gentlemen  to  Burdwan,  to  examine  the  schools  there. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  37] 

called  on  me  on  his  return,  and  gave  me  a  most  distressing 
account  of  the  fall  of  houses,  the  loss  of  property,  the  violent 
rushing  of  w^ater,  so  that  none,  not  even  the  best  swimmers, 
durst  leave  the  places  were  they  were.  He  fasted  for  three 
days. 

'This  inundation  was  very  destructive  to  the  mission  house, 
or  rather  premises.  A  slip  of  the  earth  took  place  on  the  bank 
of  the  river  near  my  house,  and  gradually  approached  it,  till 
only  about  ten  feet  were  left,  and  that  cracked.  At  last  two 
fissures  appeared  in  the  foundation  and  wall  of  the  house  itself. 
This  was  a  signal  for  me  to  remove ;  and  a  house  built  for  a 
professor  in  the  college  being  empty,  I  removed  to  it,  and, 
through  mercy,  am  now  comfortably  settled  there.  Durinsr 
this  illness  I  received  the  constant  news  of  the  concern  ot  .;[1 
our  religious  friends  for  me.  Our  younger  brethren  visited 
me,  as  did  some  of  the  Independent  and  Church  brethren,  and 
many  who  make  no  profession  of  religion  at  all. 

'1  have  nearly  filled  my  letter  with  this  account ;  but  I  must 
give  a  little  account  of  the  state  of  my  mind,  when  I  could 
think,  and  that  was  generally  when  excited  by  an  access  of 
fever  ;  at  other  times  I  could  scarcely  speak  or  think.  I  con- 
cluded, one  or  two  days,  that  my  death  was  near.  I  had  no 
joys,  nor  any  fear  of  death,  or  reluctance  to  die  ;  but  never 
was  I  so  sensibly  convinced  of  the  value  of  an  atoning  Savior 
as  then.  I  could  only  say,  '  Hangs  my  hel])less  soul  on  thee,' 
and  adopt  the  language  of  Psalm  li,  1,  2,  which  I  desired  might 
be  the  text  for  my  funeral  sermon.  A  life  of  faith  in  Christ, 
the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,  ap- 
peared more  than  ordinarily  important  to  my  mind  ;  and  I 
expressed  these  feelings  to  those  about  me,  with  freedom  and 
pleasure. 

'  Now,  through  the  gracious  providence  of  God,  I  am  again 
restored  to  my  work,  and  daily  do  a  little,  as  my  strength  will 
admit.  The  printing  of  the  translations  is  now  going  forward 
almost  as  usual ;  but  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  attend  to  my 
duties  in  college,  and  only  one  day  to  those  of  translator  of 
the  laws  and  regulations  of  the  governor-general  in   council. 

'The  affairs  of  the  mission  are  more  extended,  and,  I  trust, 
in  as  prosperous  a  state  as  at  any  former  time.  There  are 
now  many  of  other  denominations  employed  in  missions,  and 


372  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

I  rejoice  to  say  that  we  are  all  workers  together.  There  is  now 
no  ill-will  towards  each  other,  but  on  every  hand  a  spirit  of 
love  and  mutual  cooperation  prevails.  The  various  reports 
published  will  give  you  a  tolerably  correct  idea  of  the  progress 
of  the  gospel.  Female  schools  have  been  set  up,  and  much 
encouraged. 

'  I  am,  very  affectionately  yours,  W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'January  30,  1824. 
'My  dear  Brother, 

'  Through  the  abundant  mercy  of  God,  I  am  still  in  the  land 
of  the  living.  I  was  laid  on  a  bed  of  affliction  the  greatest 
part  of  December,  and  brought  very  low,  though  no  immediate 
danger  was  supposed  to  attend  the  case.  My  recovery  was 
rapid,  and,  through  the  goodness  of  God,  I  am  now  nearly  as 
well  as  before.  A  few  weeks  before,  I  was  called  to  mourn 
the  death  of  my  eldest  son,  Felix.  He  was  afflicted  for  about 
half  a  year  with  a  disorder  of  the  liver,  which  baffled  all  med- 
ical skill. 

'  I  think  I  informed  you  in  my  last,  of  my  third  marriage. 
I  can  add,  that  my  present  wife  is  a  person  who  fears  God,  and 
that  1  have  as  great  a  share  of  domestic  happiness,  perhaps,  as 
those  who  are  most  favored  in  that  respect.  But  this  is  enough 
about  my  own  concerns. 

'  Yours,  &c.,  W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'  Serampore,  July  6,  1824. 
'My  dear  Brother  Ryland, 

'Through  the  mercy  of  God,  I  am  hitherto  preserved,  though 
still  very  lame,  and  much  pained  in  my  injured  limb  with 
rheumatism.  I  was  six  months  from  receiving  the  hurt  before 
I  could  walk  without  crutches.  I  have  engaged  in  almost  all 
my  labors  as  before,  ever  since  the  beginning  of  January,  from 
which  time  I  attended  the  college  duties  as  usual.  I,  ever  since 
that  time,  have  preached  once  on  the  Lord's  day,  at  Serampore, 
and  occasionally  on  the  week  day,  and  twice  have  been  at  Cal- 
cutta on  the  Lord's  day.  Yesterday  evening  I  delivered  the 
address  at  the  monthly  prayer-meeting,  which  was  held  at  the 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  373 

Independent  chapel,  and  trust  I  shall  now  be  able  to  preach  as 
formerly.  I  have  been  brought  up  from  the  gates  of  death.  I 
am  laid  under  new  obligations.  May  I  be  strengthened  with 
all  might  in  the  inner  man  ! 

'My  general  health  is  perhaps  as  good  as  it  ever  was, except 
indigestion  occasionally,  arising  from  the  close  manner  in 
which  I  am  obliged  to  confine  myself  to  labor.  I  got  throuo-h 
the  preparing  of  copy  for  my  Bengali  dictionary  last  week ; 
the  gleanings  of  words  to  be  inserted  as  the  printing  proceeds 
will  be  pretty  plentiful.  There  are,  however,  only  five  letters 
of  the  printing  remaining,  and  they  are  short  ones,  one  except- 
ed. In  the  interval  between  this  and  beginning  the  Bhotanta 
or  Boutan  grammar  and  dictionary,  I  intend  to  write  letters  to 
all  my  friends.' 

The  suspension  of  his  engagements  by  his  recent  affliction, 
and  the  increased  work  that  had  devolved  upon  him  as  trans- 
lator of  the  government  papers,  &c.,  obliged  him  to  task  him- 
self more  severely  than  ever,  working,  as  he  informs  us,  extra 
hours  for  a  great  length  of  time.     To  which,  he  continues, — 

*  Must  be  added,  that  the  whole  weight  of  correcting  and  car- 
rying all  the  versions  of  the  Scriptures  through  the  press,  lies 
on  me  ;  so  that  you  will  perceive  I  have  no  time  to  spare.  The 
editing  of  Roxburg's  Flora  Indica,  the  second  volume  of  which 
is  just  finished,  though  comparatively  a  light  thing,  takes  up 
some  time.  While  I  was  confined  at  home,  I  was,  on  the  de- 
parture of  the  president  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  India, 
unanimously  elected  to  the  presidentship  ;  and,  on  a  represen- 
tation being  officially  made  to  government  two  years  ago,  that 
the  scarcity  of  timber  was  such  that  it  was  feared  there  soon 
would  be  great  difficulty  in  supplying  the  wants  of  the  com- 
missariat, I  was  appointed  a  member  of  a  committee  to  inquire 
into  and  take  measures  for  remedying  the  evil.  This  is  called 
the  Plantation  Committee,  and  it  has  lately  added  much  to  my 
load  of  labor.  We  have  to  lay  down  plans  for  planting  new 
forests  and  preserving  the  old  ones,  and  to  correspond  with 

33 


374  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

government  upon  the  subject,  and,  with  its  approbation,  to 
carry  those  plans  into  effect. 

******* 

'W.Carey.' 


Dr.  Carey  to  Dr.  Ryland. 

'  February,  1825. 
*My  dear  Brother  Ryland, 

*Next  week  we  have  a  missionary  association  of  the  Baptist, 
Independent,  and  Lutheran  ministers,  employed  by  the  Church 
Missionary  Society.  I  am  to  preach  the  English  sermon  on 
Tuesday  evening,  at  the  Circular  Road  chapel.  1  think  of 
taking  this  text.  Gal.  vi,  9:  '  Let  us  not  be  weary  in  well  doing, 
for  in  due  season  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not.'  I,  who  have 
seen  the  work  from  the  beginning,  think  that  much  fruit  has 
been  reaped  already ;  but  some,  who  came  later  to  the  work, 
cannot  compare  two  periods  so  distant  from  each  other  as  I 
can,  and  therefore  need  encouragement  in  their  work. 

W.  Carey.' 

Dr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Dyer. 

'  Calcutta,  July  27,  1825. 
*My  dear  Brother  Dyer, 

'  I  have  lately  been  so  pressed  with  business,  that  1  found  it 
impossible  to  write.  I  hope  I  have  so  far  gotten  through  with 
it  that  it  will  not  henceforth  press  with  any  great  weight  upon 
me.  My  dictionary  of  the  Bengali  language  is  now  finished 
and  published.  This  is  a  work  of  three  quarto  volumes  of  close 
print,  and  has  occupied  all,  and  rather  more  than  all,  my  lei- 
sure time  for  several  years.  I  hope  it  will  contribute  to  the 
facilities  for  the  study  of  the  language,  and  thereby  shorten 
that  labor  which  missionaries  find  the  most  disagreeable  of 
any. 

'  Affectionately  yours,  W.  Carey.' 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  375 

Dr.  Carey  to  Mr.  Dyer. 

'  Serampore  Dec.  9, 1825. 
*  My  dear  Brother, 

'Your  last  announced  the  death  of  my  very  highly  esteemed 
friend  and  brother,  Dr.  Ryland.  My  feelings  were  much  dis- 
tressed at  the  intelligence,  and  it  appears  to  me  as  if  every 
thing  dear  to  me  in  England  was  now  removed.  There  are 
now  in  England  very  few  ministers  with  whom  1  was  acquaint- 
ed. Fuller,  SutclifF,  Pearce,  Fawcett,  and  Ryland,  besides 
many  others  whom  I  knew,  are  gone  to  glory.  My  family 
connexions  also,  those  excepted  who  were  children  when  I 
left  England,  or  have  since  that  time  been  born,  are  all  gone, 
two  sisters  only  excepted.  Wherever  I  look  in  England,  I 
see  a  vast  blank  ;  and  were  1  ever  to  revisit  that  dear  country, 
I  should  have  an  entirely  new  set  of  friendships  to  form.  I, 
however,  never  intended  to  return  to  England  when  I  left 
it,  and  unless  something  very  unexpected  were  to  take  place, 
I  certainly  shall  not  do  it.  I  am  fully  convinced  I  should 
meet  with  many  who  would  show  me  the  utmost  kindness 
in  their  power;  but  my  heart  is  wedded  to  India;  and,  though 
I  am  of  little  use,  I  feel  a  pleasure  in  doing  the  little  I  can, 
and  a  very  high  interest  in  the  spiritual  good  of  this  vast 
comitry,  by  whose  instrumentality  soever  it  is  promoted. 

'You  some  time  ago  requested  my  opinion  of  the  plan  now 
about  to  be  adopted  by  the  London  Missionary  Society,  of  in- 
structing missionares  in  the  languages  of  the  countries  to 
which  they  are  to  be  sent,  before  they  leave  England.  I 
should  not  like  to  condemn  a  plan  which  is  sanctioned  by  so 
many  men  of  experience  and  sound  judgment,  but  I  really  am 
enable  to  see  its  advantages.  The  languages  must  be  ac- 
quired. Are  the  facilities  for  acquiring  them  in  England  equal 
to  those  obtianable  where  they  are  spoken,  or  can  they  be  made 
so?  Is  there  any  thing  in  England  which  can  be  substituted 
for  the  advantages  of  daily  familiar  intercourse  with  the  natives 
of  a  country?  And  will  not  the  highest  acquisitions  obtain- 
able in  Europe  amount  to  a  mechanical  collocation  of  words, 
applicable  to  scarcely  any  practical  use  where  the  languages 
are  spoken?     I  suppose  that,  all  things  else  being  equal,  a 


376  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY. 

longer  time  will  be  required  in  England,  to  obtain  an  equal 
proficiency,  than  in  India ;  to  which  may  be  added,  that  some- 
times the  language  of  a  country  is  mistaken,  and  another 
substituted  for  it;  as  was  formerly  the  case  in  India,  where 
the  Hindostani,  a  mere  lingua  franca,  was  supposed  to  be  the 
current  language  of  Hindostan,  and  was  studied  to  the  neglect 
of  the  languages  spoken  in  the  various  provinces :  a  system 
jiow  abandoned  in  the  college  of  Fort  William. 

'Yours,  &c., 

'  W.  Carey.' 


CHAPTER    VII 


DR.  CAREY'S    DECLINING    HEALTH  AND  DECEASE HIS  LAST   WILL 

RESOLUTION  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  BAPTIST  MISSION- 
ARY   SOCIETY NOTICE    OF    LIFE    AND    LAST    ILLNESS,    BY    MR. 

JONATHAN  CAREY CRITIQUE  UPON  THE  LITERARY  CHARAC- 
TER AND  PRODUCTIONS  OF  DR.  CAREY,  BY  PROFESSOR  WILSON 
GENERAL  REVIEW,  WITH  REFLECTIONS. 

From  the  severe  illness,  described  by  him  in  the  preceding 
section,  Dr.  Carey's  constitution  received  a  shock  from  which 
it  never  perfectly  recovered.  He  was  at  no  time  afterwards  in 
sound  health  for  any  lengthened  period  ;  and  seemed  sensible^ 
from  the  different  attacks  of  fever  and  other  ailments  which 
came  upon  him  in  very  quick  succession,  that  the  end  of  his 
course  was  fast  approaching.  He  recommenced  his  exertions 
in  biblical  translation  with  the  least  possible  delay,  and  with 
the  same  assiduity  which  had  ever  distinguished  him.  The 
only  difference  was,  that  he  somev/hat  contracted  the  circle  of 
his  labors,  that  he  might  render  it  finally  the  more  effective ; 
concentrating  his  efforts  upon  a  few  of  the  more  important 
dialects,  in  order  to  bring  them  nearer  perfection.  His  special 
care  was  bestowed  upon  the  Bengali  version.  Upon  the  New 
Testament,  in  this  language,  his  work  as  a  translator  com- 
menced ;  and  with  the  final  revision  of  it,  which  he  completed 
a  little  before  his  death,  it  closed.  As  so  much  has  met  the 
attention  of  the  reader  upon  the  subject  of  Oriental  translations 
from  Dr.  Carey's  own  pen,  and  as  an  erudite  review  of  them, 
together  with  his  other  literary  productions,  awaits  his  perusal 
from  that  of  Professor  Wilson,  any  further  notice  from  the 
compiler  is  unnecessary. 
33* 


378  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

I  have  not,  either,  thought  it  expedient  to  publish  so  largely 
upon  this  last  j)eriod  of  Dr.  Carey's  life  from  his  own  corres- 
pondence, as  upon  those  which  have  preceded.  This  I  have 
abstained  from,  partly,  because  to  have  done  otherwise  would 
have  swollen  the  work  to  an  inconvenient  size ;  and,  partly, 
because  the  identity  of  his  labors,  for  so  great  a  number  of 
years,  rendered  his  successive  references  to  them,  unavoidably, 
a  repetition,  or  nearly  so,  of  what  he  had  previously  written  ; 
and,  partly,  also,  because  the  bulk  of  his  correspondence  is 
occupied  with  the  controversy  pending  at  the  tiine  betAveen 
the  Serampore  Missionaries  and  the  Parent  Institution. 

The  reader  has  been  made  acquainted  with  the  history  of 
this  servant  of  God  and  eminent  friend  of  man,  from  the 
commencement  of  his  career  to  his  meridian  strength  and 
usefulness,  up  to  the  first  indication  of  his  physical  decline. 
To  be  able  minutely  to  trace  every  step  in  his  descent  to  the 
grave,  would  add,  it  is  presumed,  very  little  to  the  pleasure  he 
has  already  experienced.  As  strength,  and  happiness,  and  life, 
were  the  primary  and  essential  attributes  of  our  being,  the 
leading  features  in  the  constitution  of  the  universe, — so,  to 
dwell  upon  them,  is  satisfactory,  and  congruous  with  the  feel- 
ings of  the  human  mind ;  but,  as  decay,  and  suffering,  and 
death,  were  introduced  in  contravention  of  the  original  order 
of  things,  and  incurred  as  penalties  to  offended  justice, — so,  to 
observe  them  more  circumstantially  than  is  needful  to  our 
deriving  from  them  such  impressions  as  shall  be  salutary  to 
our  spirits,  while  undergoing  their  discipline  for  eternity,  and 
to  teach  us  the  just  improvement  of  the  vicissitudes  through 
which,  by  sovereign  appointment,  we  are  destined  to  pass, 
would  be  unnatural,  and  therefore  unwise.  Enough  is  record- 
ed to  manifest  the  consistency  of  Dr.  Carey's  perseverance 
and  unwearied  devotedness  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  his  pro- 
found humility  and  self-renunciation,  and  thus  to  seal,  to  the 
end,  the  perfection  of  his  Christian  character. 

Instead,  therefore,  of  lingering  about  the  details  and  inci- 
dents connected  with  the  closing  scene  of  Dr.  Carey's  life,  I 
shall  enable  the  reader  to  gather  his  own  impressions,  by  pre- 
senting him  with  a  few  and  brief  extracts  from  his  corres- 
pondence ;  and  also  with  a  valuable  notice  of  him,  obligingly 
furnished  by  my  esteemed  relative,  Mr.  Jonathan  Carey. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  379 

'  Serampore,  June  5,  1830. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'  For  the  last  year  and  a  half,  I  have  had  a  succession  of  at- 
tacks of  fever,  which  have  greatly  reduced  me.  For  the  last 
five  weeks,  however,  I  have  been  mercifully  preserved,  and 
have  had  no  attack.  I  frequently  thought  that  the  time  of  my 
departure  was  at  hand ;  and  I  believe,  so  far  as  I  am  able  to 
judge,  that  I  did  cast  my  eternal  interests  on  the  mercy  of  God, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus.  I  felt  that  he  had  made  a  full  atone- 
ment by  the  sacrifice  which  he  oflTered  up ;  and  that,  eternal 
life  being  promised  to  every  one  who  believes  in  him,  I  might 
look  forward  with  humble  expectation,  to  the  time  when  all 
who  are  accepted  in  the  beloved,  shall  be  declared  pardoned, 
justified,  and  made  meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in 
hght. 

'Yesterday  I  finished  revising  the  new  edition  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures  in  Bengali.  It  is  now  printed,  in  one  volume,  about 
the  size  of  the  Cambridge  Bible.  There  is  scarcely  any  thing 
for  which  I  desired  to  live  a  little  longer,  so  much  as  for  that. 

'  Your  aflfectionate  brother,  W.  Carey.' 

To  Mr.  Jabez  Carey,  Dr.  Carey's  third  Son. 

'My  dear  Jabez, 

'I  am  this  day  seventy  years  old, — a  monument  of  divine 
mercy  and  goodness ;  though,  on  a  review  of  my  life,  I  find 
much,  very  much,  for  which  I  ought  to  be  humbled  in  the 
dust.  My  direct  and  positive  sins  are  innumerable;  my  negli- 
gence in  the  Lord's  work  has  been  great ;  I  have  not  promoted 
his  cause,  nor  sought  his  glory  and  honor,  as  I  ought.  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  I  am  spared  till  now,  and  am  still  retained 
in  his  work.  I  trust  for  acceptance  with  him  to  the  blood  of 
Christ  alone ;  and  I  hope  I  am  received  into  the  divine  favor 
through  him.  I  wish  to  be  more  entirely  devoted  to  his  ser- 
vice, more  completely  sanctified,  and  more  habitually  exercising 
all  the  Christian  graces,  and  bringing  forth  the  fruits  of  right- 
eousness to  the  praise  and  lionor  of  that  Savior  who  gave  his 
life  a  sacrifice  for  sin. 

'  Through  the  goodness  of  God  [  am  now  quite  well ;  but  I 


380  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

have,  within  the  last  three  months,  had  five  or  six  severe 
attacks  of  fever,  which  have  greatly  weakened  me ;  indeed,  I 
consider  the  time  of  my  departure  to  be  near ;  but  this  I  leave 
with  God.  I  trust  T  am  ready  to  die,  through  the  grace  of  my 
Lord  Jesus,  and  I  look  forward  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the 
society  of  holy  men  and  angels,  and  the  full  vision  of  God  for 
evermore. 

'  I  am,  &c.,  W.  Carey.' 

*  Serampore,  May  17,  1831.' 

'  Serampore,  Dec.  16th,  1831. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'  I  am  now,  through  merc)^,  getting  better ;  but  the  repeated 
attacks  I  have  had,  namely,  eight  or  nine  within  the  last 
twelve  months,  have  much  enfeebled  me,  and  warn  me  to  look 
forward  to  a  change.  This  change,  through  the  mercy  of  God, 
I  do  not  fear.  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed,  and  that  he 
is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  to  him  against 
that  day.  The  atoning  sacrifice  made  by  our  Lord  on  the 
cross,  is  the  ground  of  my  hope  of  acceptance,  pardon,  justifi- 
cation, sanctification,  and  endless  glory. 

'It  is  from  the  same  source  that  1  expect  the  fulfilment  of  all 
the  prophecies  and  promises  respecting  the  universal  establish- 
ment of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  in  the  world,  including'the 
total  abolition  of  idolatry,  Mahomedanism,  infidelity,  Socini- 
anism,  and  all  the  political  establishments  in  the  world ;  the 
abolition  also  of  war,  slavery,  and  oppression,  in  all  their 
ramifications.  It  is  on  this  ground  that  I  pray  for,  and  expect, 
the  peace  of  Jerusalem  ;  not  merely  the  cessation  of  hostilities 
between  Christians  of  different  sects  and  connexions,  but  that 
genuine  love  which  the  gospel  requires,  and  which  the  gospel 
is  so  v/ell  calculated  to  produce. 

'  Your  affectionate  brother,  W.  Carey.' 


My  dear  Jabez, 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  381 

'  Serampore,  Sept  Sd,  1832. 


*  Through  divine  goodness,  I  am  now  well,  having  had  no 
return  of  fever  for  the  last  three  months ;  but  I  shall  scarcely 
ever  recover  the  strength  I  had  before.  My  mind  is  tranquil. 
I  think  I  never  had  a  greater  sense  of  my  sinfulness,  and  of  the 
evil  nature  of  all  my  sins,  than  I  have  had  for  some  time  past ; 
but  I  see  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ  to  be  full  and  com- 
plete, to  have  been  accepted  of  God,  and  to  be  a  ground  for 
the  bestowment  of  all  spiritual  blessings ;  and  I  trust  that  I  do 
daily  and  continually  trust  in  Christ  for  acceptance  into  the 
divine  favor,  for  pardon  and  justification,  and  the  entire  reno- 
vation of  my  nature. 

'  Our  Lord  has  said,  that,  '  if  we  confess  our  sins,  God  is 
faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from 
all  unrighteousness.'  My  conscience  testifies  that  I  do  confess 
my  sins ;  I  therefore  hope  in  time  for  pardon  and  sanctification. 
Christ  hath  said,  'He  that  cometh  unto  me,  1  will  in  no  wise 
cast  out.'  My  conscience  bears  witness  that  I  do  come  to 
Christ,  and  I  feel  the  enjoyment  arising  from  confidence  in  his 
gracious  declarations. 

'I  am,  &c.,  W.  Carey.' 

'  Serampore,  July  27th,  1833. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'  This  is  intended  to  inform  you  that  I  believe  this  is  the  last 
letter  you  are  at  all  likely  to  receive  from  me. 

'  About  a  week  ago,  so  great  a  change  took  place  in  me,  that 
I  concluded  it  was  the  immediate  stroke  of  death,  and  all  my 
children  were  informed  of  it,  and  have  been  here  to  see  me. 
I  have  since  that  revived  in  an  almost  miraculous  manner, 
or  I  could  not  have  written  this.  But  I  cannot  expect  it  to 
continue.  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.  Adieu,  till  I  meet 
you  in  a  better  world.  Your  affectionate  brother, 

'  W.  Carey.' 


382  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

'  Serampore,  Sept.  25th,  1833. 
'My  dear  Sisters, 

'My  being  able  to  write  to  you  now  is  quite  unexpected  by 
me,  and,  I  believe,  by  every  one  else ;  but  it  appears  to  be  the 
will  of  God  that  I  should  continue  a  little  time  longer.  How 
long  that  may  be,  I  leave  entirely  with  him,  and  can  only  say, 
'all  the  days  of  my  appointed  time  will  I  wait,  till  my  change 
come.'  I  vt^as  two  months  or  more  ago  reduced  to  such  a 
state  of  weakness,  that  it  appeared  as  if  my  mind  was  ex- 
tinguished ;  and  my  weakness  of  body,  and  sense  of  extreme 
fatigue  and  exhaustion,  were  such  that  I  could  scarcely 
speak,  and  it  appeared  that  death  would  be  no  more  felt  than 
the  removing  from  one  chair  to  another. 

'I  am  now  able  to  sit  and  to  lie  on  my  couch,  and  now  and 
then  to  read  a  proof-sheet  of  the  Scriptures.  I  am  too  weak 
to  walk  more  than  just  across  the  house,  nor  can  I  stand  even 
a  few  minutes  without  support.  I  have  every  comfort  that 
kind  friends  can  yield,  and  feel  generally  a  tranquil  mind.  I 
trust  the  great  point  is  settled,  and  I  am  ready  to  depart ;  but 
the  time  when,  f  leave  with  God. 

'  Oct.  3d.     I  am  not  worse  than  when  I  began  this  letter. 

'I  am  your  very  affectionate  brother, 

'  Wm.  Carey.' 

He  continued,  with  but  little  variation,  until  the  9th  of  June, 
1834,  when  he  slept  in  Jesus. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  his  last  Will : 

'1,  William  Carey,  Doctor  of  Divinity,  residing  at  Serampore, 
in  the  province  of  Bengal,  being  in  good  health,  and  of  sound 
mind,  do  make  this  my  last  will  and  testament  in  manner  and 
form  following: 

'First — I  utterly  disclaim  all  or  any  right  or  title  to  the 
premises  at  Serampore,  called  the  Mission  Premises,  and  every 
part  and  parcel  thereof;  and  do  hereby  declare  that  I  never 
had,  or  supposed  myself  to  have,  any  such  right  or  title. 

'Secondly — I  disclaim  all  right  and  title  to  the  pro[)erty  be- 
longing to  my  present  wife,  Grace  Carey,  amounting  to  25,000 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  383 

rupees,  more  or  less,  which  was  settled  upon  her  by  a  particu- 
lar deed,  executed  previously  to  my  marriage  with  her. 

'  Thirdly — I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  College  of  Serampore, 
the  whole  of  my  museum,  consisting  of  minerals,  shells  corals, 
insects,  and  other  natural  curiosities,  and  a  Hortus  Siccus. 
Also  the  folio  edition  of  Hortus  Woburnensis,  which  was  pre- 
sented to  me  by  Lord  Hastings ;  Taylor's  Hebrew  Concord- 
ance, my  collection  of  Bibles  in  foreign  languages,  and  all  my 
books  in  the  Italian  and  German  languages. 

'  Fourthly — I  desire  that  my  wife,  Grace  Carey,  will  collect 
from  my  library  whatever  books  in  the  English  language  she 
wishes  for,  and  keep  them  for  her  own  use. 

'Fifthly — From  the  failure  of  funds  to  carry  my  former 
intentions  into  effect,  I  direct  that  my  library,  with  the  excep- 
tions above  made,  be  sold  by  public  auction,  unless  it,  or  any 
part  of  it,  can  be  advantageously  disposed  of  by  private  sale  ; 
and  that  from  the  proceeds  15C0  rupees  be  paid  as  a  legacy  to 
my  son,  Jabez  Carey,  a  like  sum  having  heretofore  been  paid 
to  my  sons  Felix  and  William. 

'Sixthly — It  was  my  intention  to  have  bequeathed  a  similar 
sum  to  my  son  Jonathan  Carey ;  but  God  has  so  prospered 
him  that  he  is  in  no  immediate  want  of  it.  I  direct  that  if 
any  thing  remains,  it  be  given  to  my  wife,  Grace  Carey,  to 
whom  I  also  bequeath  all  my  household  furniture,  wearing 
apparel,  and  whatever  other  effects  I  may  possess,  for  her 
pro})er  use  and  behoof 

'SeventhI}' — I  direct  that,  before  every  other  thing,  all  my 
lawful  debts  may  be  paid ;  that  my  funeral  be  as  plain  as  pos- 
sible ;  that  I  may  be  buried  by  the  side  of  my  second  wife, 
Charlotte  Emilia  Carey ;  and  that  the  following  inscription, 
and  nothing  more,  may  be  cut  on  the  stone  which  commemo- 
rates her,  either  above  or  below,  as  there  may  be  room,  viz.: 

'William  Carey,  born  August  17th,  1761 ;  died 

'  A  wretched,  poor,  and  helpless  worm, 
On  thy  kind  arms  I  fall.' 

'  Eighthly — I  hereby  constitute  and  appoint  my  dear  friends, 
the  Rev.  William  Robinson,  of  Calcutta,  and  the  Rev.  John 
Mack,  of  Serampore,  executors  to  this  my  last  will  and  testa- 


384  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

ment,  and  request  them  to  perform  all  therein  desired  and 
ordered  by  me,  to  the  utmost  of  their  power. 

'  Ninthly — I  hereby  declare  this  to  be  my  last  will  and  testa- 
ment, and  revoke  all  other  wills  and  testaments  of  a  date  prior 

to  this. 

(Signed)  '  William  Carey.' 

(Signed)  '  W.  H.  Jones,  S.  M'Intosh.' 

The  following  minute,  in  reference  to  this  removal  of  Dr. 
Carey,  has  been  entered  on  the  records  of  the  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Society : 

'The  Secretary  having  reported  that  intelligence  had  arrived 
of  the  death  of  Dr.  Carey,  at  Serampore,  on  Monday,  the  9th 
of  June  last,  it  was 

'Resolved,  That  this  Committee  cordially  sympathize,  on 
this  mournful  occasion,  with  the  immediate  connexions  of  Dr. 
Carey,  by  whose  death,  not  merely  the  missionary  circle  with 
which  he  was  most  intimately  associated,  but  the  Christian 
world  at  large,  has  sustained  no  common  loss.  The  commit- 
tee gratefully  record,  that  this  venerable  and  highly-esteemed 
servant  of  God  had  a  principal  share  in  the  formation  of  the 
Baptist  Missionary  Society  ;  and  devoted  himself,  at  its  very 
commencement,  to  the  service  of  the  heathen,  amidst  compli- 
cated difficulties  and  discouragements,  with  an  ardor  and  per- 
severance which  nothing  but  Christian  benevolence  could 
inspire,  and  which  only  a  strong  and  lively  faith  in  God  could 
sustain.  Endowed  with  extraordinary  talents  for  the  acqui- 
sition of  foreign  languages,  he  delighted  to  consecrate  them 
to  the  noble  purpose  of  unfolding  to  the  nations  of  the  East 
the  holy  Scriptures  in  their  own  tongue :  a  department  of 
sacred  labor  in  which  it  pleased  God  to  honor  him  far  beyond 
any  predecessor  or  contemporary  in  the  missionary  field.  Nor 
was  Dr.  Carey  less  eminent  for  the  holiness  of  his  personal 
character.  Throughout  life  he  adorned  the  gospel  of  God  his 
Savior,  by  the  spirituality  of  his  mind  and  the  uprightness  of 
his  conduct;  and  especially,  by  the  deep  and  unaffected  hu- 
mility which  proved  how  largely  he  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of 
his  blessed  Master. 

*  In  paying  this  brief  and  imperfect  tribute  to  the  memory 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  385 

of  this  great  and  good  man,  who  was  long  their  associate  in 
missionary  exertion,  and  whom  they  have  never  ceased  to  re- 
gard with  feelings  of  the  utmost  veneration  and  respect,  it  is 
the  anxious  desire  of  the  committee  to  glorify  God  in  him. 
May  a  review  of  what  divine  grace  accomplished  in  and  by 
this  faithful  servant  of  the  Redeemer,  awaken  lively  gratitude, 
and  strengthen  the  devout  expectation  that  He,  Avith  whom  is 
the  residue  of  the  Spirit,  will  favor  his  church  with  renewed 
proofs  of  his  love  and  care,  by  thrusting  forth  many  such  la- 
borers into  the  harvest !' 

Notice  of  Dr.  Caret,  by  his  Son,  Mr.  Jonathan  Carey. 

'  Camberivell  Grove,  14th  April,  1836. 
'My  dear  Cousin, 

'  In  giving  you  some  particulars  of  the  labors,  illness  and 
death  of  my  late  father,  I  must  necessarily  be  brief,  as  I  am 
not  in  possession  of  the  requisite  materials,  and  can  merely 
trust  to  memory.  I  quitted  Serampore  many  years  ago,  and 
only  occasionally  had  opportunities  of  seeing  him. 

'  As  connected  with  the  Serampore  mission,  my  father  was 
principally  occupied  in  translating,  and  in  preaching  there  and 
in  Calcutta. 

'The  numerous  translations  he  completed  are  known  to  the 
public.  The  chief  part  of  his  time  was  devoted  to  this  great 
work ;  and,  to  render  his  translations  correct,  he  spared  no  la- 
bor, and  was  assiduous  in  obtaining  and  improving  all  the  in- 
formation he  could. 

'He  was  also  frequently  employed  in  revising  and  correcting 
the  translations  of  others  ;  and  numerous  were  the  applications 
he  received  for  his  opinion  on  the  construction  and  meaning  of 
terms  and  passages  in  works  passing  through  the  press ;  all 
which  friendly  aid  he  cheerfully  rendered,  though  his  time  was 
much  occupied. 

'  Besides  the  translations  connected  with  the  Serampore 
mission,  my  father  had  also  those  to  attend  to  connected  with 
his  duties  in  the  college  of  Fort  William,  and  the  translation, 
likewise,  of  the  government  regulations,  all  which  went  through 
his  hands  without  hindering  his  work  in  the  mission  ;  and  such 
were  the  system  and  steady  perseverance  he  observed,  that  he 
34 


386  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

never  allowed  one  duty  to  interfere  with  another,  and  yet  all 
received  a  full  attention. 

'  In  addition  to  the  translations,  he  was  also  engaged  in  com- 
piling dictionaries,  grammars,  and  other  works  ;  some  of  them 
tasks  of  a  most  arduous  nature. 

'  In  discharging  his  work  as  translator,  my  father  acquired 
habits  of  close  and  steady  application,  which  enabled  him  to 
accomplish  much.  So  scrupulous  was  he  of  his  time,  that,  if 
overcome  by  sleep,  he  would  double  his  vigilance  to  regain 
what  he  had  lost.  In  Calcutta  he  formerly  attended  three  days 
in  the  week  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  professor ;  and 
such  was  his  incessant  attention  to  his  studies,  that  three  pun- 
dits were  obliged  alternately  to  attend  him  through  the  day ; 
one  in  the  morning  before  breakfast,  who  was  relieved  by 
another  after  breakfast,  occupying  his  time  till  his  college  du- 
ties required  his  attendance.  Upon  his  return  from  college, 
another  attended  him  for  the  afternoon.  It  was  his  practice, 
during  the  hot  months,  to  rest  half  an  hour  in  the  afternoon  ; 
and  on  one  of  these  occasions,  on  a  sultry  day,  some  pressing 
business  being  on  his  hands,  he  requested  his  pundit  to  wake 
him  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and,  leaving  his  watch  on  the  ta- 
ble to  direct  the  pundit,  he  retired  into  his  room.  It  is  well 
known  that  Hindus  Iiave  a  particular  aversion  to  disturb  a  per- 
son in  sleep  ;  but  my  father  being  strict  in  his  direction,  the 
pundit,  when  the  appointed  time  was  nearly  expired,  approach- 
ed softly  to  the  room  to  awake  him ;  but,  the  door  being  a  little 
open,  he  could  see  him  in  bed,  and,  hearing  him  breathe  hard, 
as  if  in  a  sound  sleep,  he  could  not  take  the  resolution  of  dis- 
turbing him,  and  came  back  to  the  table.  Five  minutes  after 
the  appointed  time,  the  pundit  again  approached,  making  a 
noise  with  his  feet  as  he  passed,  in  order  to  arouse  him  ;  but 
this  did  not  succeed,  and  the  pundit's  resolution  again  failed. 
In  about  ten  minutes  after  the  appointed  time,  my  father 
woke  ;  and,  finding  he  had  overslept  the  time,  he  upbraided  the 
pundit  for  his  neglect ;  when  he  informed  him  of  what  he  had 
done ;  and  pleaded,  as  his  excuse,  the  custom  of  the  natives, 
not  to  disturb  a  person  in  sound  slumber. 

'  In  the  work  of  preaching,  my  father  was  actively  employed, 
both  at  Serampore  and  in  Calcutta.     At  the  former  place,  he 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  387 

preached  in  the  chapel  on  the  mission  premises,  in  English 
and  in  the  Bengali  language  ;  and  in  English  at  the  Danish 
church  and  at  Calcutta ;  he  preached,  also,  at  the  Lai  Bazar 
chapel  in  both  languages ;  and  devoted  one  evening  exclusively 
to  hearing,  and  giving  counsel  to  inquirers. 

'With  reference  to  the  internal  management  of  the  affairs  of 
the  Serampore  mission,  Dr.  Carey  could  not,  from  his  varied 
occupations,  bestow  much  time,  and,  with  some  exceptions, 
he  depended  on  what  was  brought  before  him  by  his  colleagues, 
and  implicitly  confided  in  them. 

'In  objects  of  nature  my  father  was  exceedingly  curious. 
His  collection  of  mineral  ores,  and  other  subjects  of  natural 
history,  was  extensive,  and  obtained  his  particular  attention  in 
seasons  of  leisure  and  recreation.  The  science  of  botany  was 
his  constant  delight  and  study  ;  and  his  fondness  for  his  garden 
remained  to  the  last.  No  one  was  allowed  to  interfere  in  the 
arrangements  of  this  his  favorite  retreat ;  and  it  is  here  he  en- 
joyed his  most  pleasant  moments  of  secret  devotion  and  medi- 
tation. The  arrangements  made  by  him  were  on  the  Linnsean 
system  ;  and  to  disturb  the  bed  or  border  of  the  garden  was  to 
touch  the  apple  of  his  eye.  The  garden  formed  the  best  and 
rarest  botanical  collection  of  plants  in  the  East ;  to  the  exten- 
sion of  which,  by  his  correspondence  with  persons  of  eminence 
in  Europe  and  other  parts  of  the  world,  his  attention  was  con- 
stantly directed ;  and,  in  return,  he  supplied  his  correspondents 
with  rare  collections  from  the  East.  It  was  painful  to  observe 
with  what  distress  my  father  quitted  this  scene  of  his  enjoy- 
ments, when  extreme  weakness,  during  his  last  illness,  pre- 
vented his  going  to  his  favorite  retreat.  Often,  when  he  was 
unable  to  walk,  he  was  drawn  into  the  garden  in  a  chair  placed 
on  a  board  with  four  wheels. 

'In  order  to  prevent  irregularity  in  the  attendance  of  the 
gardeners,  he  was  latterly  particular  in  paying  tiieir  wages  with 
his  own  hands ;  and,  on  the  last  occasion  of  doing  so,  he  was 
much  affected  that  his  weakness  had  increased  and  confined 
him  to  the  house.  But,  notwithstanding  he  had  closed  this 
part  of  his  earthly  scene,  he  could  not  refrain  from  sending 
for  his  gardeners  into  the  room  where  he  lay,  and  would  con- 
verse with  them  about  the  plants  ;  and  near  his  couch,  against 


388  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

the  wall,  he  placed  the  picture  of  a  beaiitifLil  shrub,  upon  which 
he  gazed  with  delight. 

'On  this  science  he  frequently  gave  lectures,  which  were 
well  attended,  and  never  failed  to  prove  interesting.  His  pub- 
lication of 'Roxburg's  Flora  Indica'  is  a  standard  work  with 
botanists.  Of  his  botanical  friends  he  spoke  with  great  esteem  ; 
and  never  failed  to  defend  them  when  erroneously  assailed. 
He  encouraged  the  study  of  the  science  wherever  a  desire  to 
acquire  it  was  manifested.  In  this  particular  he  would  some- 
times gently  reprove  those  who  had  no  taste  for  it ;  but  he 
would  not  spare  those  who  attempted  to  undervalue  it.  His 
remark  of  one  of  his  colleagues  was  keen  and  striking.  When 
the  latter  somewhat  repiehended  Dr.  Carey,  to  the  medical 
gentleman  attending  him,  for  exposing  himself  so  much  in  the 
garden,  he  immediately  replied,  that  his  colleague  was  conver- 
sant with  the  pleasures  of  a  garden,  just  as  an  animal  was  with 
the  grass  in  the  field. 

'  In  all  objects  connected  with  the  general  good  of  the  coun- 
try. Dr.  Carey  took  an  active  part.  He  prepared,  under  the 
direction  of  a  noble  lady  then  resident  in  India,  the  prospectus 
of  an  agricultural  society  in  the  East ;  to  which  was  united  an 
horticultural  society,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  in  the 
affairs  of  which  he  took  a  lively  interest,  till  his  last  illness  ; 
and  he  had  the  gratification  to  see  that  the  society  became  at 
length  the  most  flourishing  and  interesting  society  in  the  East ; 
in  which  gentlemen  of  the  first  respectabilit}',  from  all  parts  of 
the  country,  united ;  and  which  still  continues  an  eminently 
useful  and  flourishing  institution. 

'In  the  Asiatic  society  he  also  took  an  active  part ;  and,  for 
many  years,  up  to  his  death,  was  one  of  the  members  of  the 
committee  of  papers,  and  afforded  considerable  information, 
and,  in  various  ways,  promoted  the  general  interests  of  the 
institution.  At  his  death,  the  bishop  of  Calcutta,  in  a  speech, 
passed  the  highest  encomiums  on  the  character  and  talents  of 
Dr.  Carey  ;  and  a  minute  was  recorded,  expressive  of  the  loss 
sustained  by  the  society,  and  their  regret  at  the  removal  of  one 
of  its  most  excellent  members. 

'  In  objects  of  benevolence  my  father  took  a  prominent  part. 
He,  in  conjunction  with  other  gentlemen  of  the  civil  service, 


MEMOIR    OF  DR.    CAREY.  389 

memorialized  government  for  the  abolition  of  infanticide; 
which  object  he  saw  realized,  by  government  prohibiting  the 
offering  of  children  to  the  Ganges  at  Sangor,  where  a  guard,  to 
the  present  day,  is  sent  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the  horrid 
rite. 

'  He  was  also  among  the  number  of  those  who  first  urged 
government  to  abolish  suttee,  or  the  burning  of  widows  with 
the  corpses  of  their  husbands  ;  and  his  assistance  was  afforded 
under  different  administrations,  in  throwing  light  on  the  Hindu 
writings  on  the  subject,  in  order  to  induce  government  to  abol- 
ish the  rite  ;  and  he  lived  to  see  his  hopes  realized,  in  the  step 
which  government  ultimately  took,  in  putting  a  stop  to  the  sut- 
tee throughout  all  the  East  India  Company's  dominions. 

'  In  like  manner,  he  also,  in  various  ways,  represented  the 
evil  tendency  of  the  pilgrim-tax,  and  the  aid  afforded  by  the 
Bengal  government  towards  the  repairs  and  other  expenses  of 
the  idolatrous  temples  at  Juggunnath  and  other  places  of  resort 
for  pilgrims ;  and  these  exertions,  though  limited,  he  was  grat- 
ified to  find  were  more  extensively  taken  up  by  others,  and 
that  they  were  likely  eventually  to  prove  successful. 

'In  the  discharge  of  all  obligations,  my  father  was  particu- 
larly punctual ;  and  in  the  payment  of  the  trifling  wages  of  his 
domestics,  which  latterly  he  himself  took  in  hand,  he  was 
careful  that  no  one  was  overlooked,  or  unjustly  dealt  with.  His 
pundits  and  domestic  servants  were  much  attached  to  him ; 
and  by  the  former  he  was  particularly  held  in  great  esteem, 
for  the  uprightness  of  his  conduct,  and  his  extensive  acquire- 
ments in  the  Oriental  languages.  On  the  occasion  of  govern- 
ment new-modelling  the  college  of  Fort  William,  he  was 
pensioned,  and  his  department,  with  others,  abolished  ;  where- 
upon the  natives,  who  were  for  many  years  under  his  eye  and 
direction,  came  in  a  body  to  condole  with  Dr.  Carey.  On  see- 
ing them,  he  was  greatly  affected:  recollections  of  past  scenes 
revived ;  all  he  could  do  was  to  weep,  which  brought  tears 
from  their  eyes ;  and,  recommending  them  to  submit  to  the 
dispensations  of  Providence,  he  separated  from  them. 

'  To  all  classes  of  people  he  was  mild  and  tender  in  his  de- 
portment ;  and  with  those  who  were  of  the  '  household  of 
faith,'  he  particularly  sympathized  in  all  their  sorrows  and  joys  ; 
and  relieved  the  wants  of  the  distressed,  as  far  as  he  was  able, 
34* 


390  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

out  of  the  small  sum  he  reserved  to  himself;  and  if  this  failed, 
he  never  let  them  go  without  his  advice  and  condolence. 

'  He  was  naturally  of  a  lively  turn  of  mind,  full  of  spirit ; 
and  in  society  was  interesting  in  his  remarks  and  commu- 
nications, and  conveyed  much  information  on  almost  all  sub- 
jects. He  was  moderate  in  his  habits,  rising  early,  and  going 
to  bed  early. 

'  In  principle,  my  father  was  resolute  and  firm  ;  never  shrink- 
ing from  avowing  and  maintaining  his  sentiments.  He  had 
conscientious  scruples  against  taking  an  oath  ;  and  condemned 
severely  the  manner  in  which  oaths  were  administered,  and 
urged  vehemently  the  propriety  of  altogether  dispensing  with 
them.  I  remember  three  instances  in  which  he  took  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  regard  to  oaths,  such  as  was  characteristic  of 
the  man.  On  one  occasion,  when  a  respectable  Hindu  servant 
of  the  college  of  Fort  William,  attached  to  Dr.  Carey's  depart- 
ment, was  early  one  morning  proceeding  to  the  Ganges  to 
bathe,  he  perceived  a  dead  body  lying  near  the  road ;  but  it 
being  dark,  and  no  person  being  present,  he  passed  on,  taking 
no  further  notice  of  the  circumstance.  As  he  returned  from 
the  Ganges  after  sun-rise,  he  saw  a  crowd  near  the  body,  and 
then  happened  to  say  to  one  of  the  watchmen  present,  that  in 
the  morning  he  saw  the  body  on  the  other  side  of  the  road. 
The  watchman  took  him  in  custody,  as  a  witness  before  the 
coroner  ;  but,  when  brought  before  the  coroner,  he  refused  to 
take  an  oath,  and  was,  consequently,  committed  to  prison  for 
contempt.  The  Hindu,  being  a  respectable  person,  and  never 
having  taken  an  oath,  refused  to  take  any  nourishment  in  the 
prison.  In  this  state  he  continued  a  day  and  a  half,  my  father 
being  then  at  Serampore  ;  but  upon  his  coming  to  Calcutta,  the 
circumstances  were  mentioned  to  him.  The  fact  of  the  man 
having  refused  to  take  an  oath  was  enough  to  make  him  inter- 
est himself  in  his  behalf  He  was  delighted  with  the  resolu- 
tion the  man  took — rather  to  go  to  prison  than  take  an  oath  ; 
and  was  determined  to  do  all  he  could  to  procure  his  liberation. 
He  first  applied  to  the  coroner  ;  but  was  directed  by  him  to  the 
sheriff.  To  that  functionary  he  proceeded  ;  but  was  informed 
fey  him,  that  he  could  make  no  order  on  the  subject.  He  then 
had  an  interview  with  the  then  chief  judge,  by  whose  interfer- 
ence the  man  was  set  at  liberty. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CARET.  391 

*  Another  instance  relates  to  him  personally.  On  the  occa- 
sion of  his  last  marriage,  the  day  was  fixed  on  which  the 
ceremony  was  to  take  place — friends  were  invited — and  all 
necessary  arrangements  made  ;  but,  three  or  four  days  prior  to 
the  day  fixed,  he  was  informed  that  it  would  be  necessary  for 
him  to  obtain  a  license,  in  doing  which,  he  must  either  take  an 
oath,  or  have  banns  published.  To  taking  an  oath  he  at  once 
objected,  and  applied  to  the  then  senior  judge,  who  informed 
him  that,  as  he  was  not  a  Quaker,  his  oath  was  indispensable  ; 
but,  rather  than  take  an  oath,  he  applied  to  have  the  banns  pub- 
lished, and  postponed  the  arrangements  for  his  marriage  for 
another  three  weeks. 

'  The  third  instance  was  as  follows :  It  was  necessary,  in  a 
certain  case,  to  prove  a  will  in  court,  in  which  the  name  of 
Dr.  Carey  was  mentioned,  in  connexion  with  the  Serampore 
missionaries,  as  executors.  An  application  was  made  by  one 
of  his  colleagues,  which  was  refused  by  the  court,  on  account 
of  the  vagueness  of  the  terms, '  Serampore  missionaries ;'  but, 
as  Dr.  Carey's  name  was  specifically  mentioned,  the  court  inti- 
mated they  would  grant  the  application  if  made  by  him.  The 
communication  was  made  ;  but  when  he  was  informed  that  an 
oath  was  necessary,  he  shrunk  with  abhorrence  from  the  idea; 
but,  after  much  persuasion,  he  consented  to  make  the  applica- 
tion, if  taking  an  oath  would  be  dispensed  with.  He  did  attend, 
and  stated  his  objections  to  the  then  chief  judge,  which  being 
allowed,  his  affirmation  was  received  and  recorded  by  the 
court. 

'In  entering  upon  the  last  scene  of  my  father's  life,  his  illness 
and  death,  I  will  just  observe,  that  during  his  residence  in  In- 
dia, he  had  several  severe  attacks  of  illness,  but,  on  the  whole, 
enjoyed  better  health  than  he  did  in  England.  The  duties  con- 
nected with  the  college  of  Fort  William  afforded  him  a  change 
of  scene,  which  relieved  his  mind,  and  gave  him  opportunities 
of  taking  exercise,  and  conduced  much  to  his  health.  During 
the  several  years  he  held  the  situation  of  professor  to  the  col- 
lege, no  consideration  would  allow  him  to  neglect  his  attend- 
ance ;  and,  though  he  had  to  encounter  boisterous  weather  in 
crossing  the  river  at  unseasonable  hours,  he  was  punctual  in 
his  attendance,  and  never  applied  for  leave  of  absence.  And 
when  he  was  qualified,  by  the  rules  of  the  service,  to  retire  on 


392  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

a  handsome  pension,  he  preferred  being  actively  employed  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  the  college,  and  remained,  assidu- 
ously discharging  his  duties,  till  his  department  was  abolished 
by  government.  The  business  of  the  college  requiring  his 
attendance  in  Calcutta,  he  became  so  habituated  to  his  journeys 
to  and  fro,  that,  at  his  age,  he  painfully  felt  the  retirement  he 
was  subjected  to  when  his  office  ceased.  After  this  circum- 
stance, his  health  rapidly  declined ;  and,  though  he  occasionally 
visited  Calcutta,  he  complained  of  extreme  debility.  This  in- 
creased daily,  and  made  him  a  constant  sufferer ;  until  at  length 
he  was  not  able  to  leave  his  house. 

'  He  had  just  finished  a  new  edition  of  his  translation,  in  the 
Bengal  language,  of  the  New  Testament,  and  then  remarked, 
that  his  work  was  done,  that  he  had  nothing  more  to  do  but 
to  wait  the  will  of  his  Lord.  Often  would  he  recur  to  mission- 
ary work  in  India,  and  say,  '  What  hath  the  Lord  wrought !' 
But  of  his  own  labors  he  spoke  with  much  modesty;  and 
viewed  himself  as  an  unprofitable  servant,  needing  continually 
the  grace  of  his  Savior.  Notwithstanding  his  weakness,  he 
would  still  sit  up  at  his  desk,  where  he  was  accustomed  to 
labor ;  and,  though  he  could  not  do  much,  he  corrected  a  few 
proofs  for  the  press,  and  spent  much  time  in  reading.  Often, 
during  his  illness,  he  lamented  his  unprofitableness,  and  was 
fearful  he  should  prove  a  burden  to  others.  While  in  this 
helpless  situation,  he  was  visited  by  many  of  his  friends,  who 
knew  and  esteemed  his  character,  and  came  to  condole  with 
him.  On  one  occasion,  a  minister  of  his  acquaintance  called 
to  see  him  ;  and,  asking  him  how  he  felt  as  to  his  hopes  regard- 
ing a  future  world,  his  reply  was,  'I  cannot  say  I  have  any  very 
rapturous  feelings ;  but  I  am  confident  in  the  promises  of  the 
Lord,  and  wish  to  leave  my  eternal  interests  in  his  hands — to 
place  my  hands  in  his,  as  a  child  would  in  his  father's,  to  be 
led  where  and  how  he  please.'  In  this  frame  of  mind  he  con- 
tinued during  the  whole  of  his  illness.  He  suffered  from  ex- 
treme debility,  but  was  free  from  pain,  more  or  less,  for  six 
months  ;  but  such  was  his  complaint,  that  it  was  necessary  to 
keep  him  very  quiet.  On  more  than  one  occasion,  his  ap- 
proaching end  was  immediately  expected ;  but  he  revived.  So 
much  was  he  at  length  reduced,  that  he  could  not  turn  himself 
on  his  bed.     For  several  weeks,  all  that  he  could  articulate 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  393 

was,  yes  or  no,  to  questions  put  to  him.  On  the  night  before 
his  death  he  breathed  hard  and  was  restless ;  but  there  were 
no  particular  symptoms  of  dissolution.  In  the  morning,  very 
early,  he  continued  the  same  ;  but  as  the  day  dawned,  it  was 
evident  he  was  sinking.  He  remained  in  this  state  till  about 
seven  o'clock,  when  his  spirit  took  its  flight  to  the  regions  of 
eternal  bliss,  where  sin,  sorrow,  and  suffering,  can  no  more 
affect  him.  The  next  morning,  his  remains  were  followed  to 
the  Serampore  mission  burial-ground,  by  a  large  train  of 
mourners.  Notwithstanding  it  was  a  wet  morning,  several 
gentlemen  from  Calcutta  attended  ;  as  did  also  two  officers,  and 
the  chaplain  of  the  governor-general,  sent  from  Barrackpore 
by  the  lady  of  the  governor,  to  pay  the  last  tribute  of  respect 
to  his  memory ;  and  about  seven  o'clock  the  body  was  com- 
mitted to  the  earth,  in  the  certain  hope  of  a  resurrection  on  the 
last  day. 

'  The  foregoing  are  some  of  the  particulars  I  can  call  to  my 
recollection.  I  was  not  much  with  my  father  during  his  ill- 
ness, and  am  convinced  that  more  interesting  particulars  might 
be  communicated  by  those  who  were  in  the  habit  of  daily 
seeing  him. 

'  J.  Carey.' 

Remarks  of  the  Character  and  Labors  of  Dr.  Carey,  as 
AN  Oriental  Scholar  and  Translator,  by  H.  H.  Wil- 
son, Esq.,  M.  a.,  F.  R.  S.,  Boden  Professor  of  Sanscrit 
IN  THE  University  of  Oxford,  Member  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society,  and  of  the  Asiatic  Societies  of  Ben- 
gal, Paris,  &c. 

The  labors  of  Dr.  Carey  in  oriental  literature  were  subordi- 
nate to  the  great  object  of  his  sojourn  in  India,  and  were  devo- 
ted especially  to  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  acquirement 
of  various  Indian  languages,  with  a  view  to  their  employment 
in  the  translation  of  the  holy  Scriptures,  and  in  maintaining 
with  the  natives  that  colloquial  intercourse  which  is  the  readi- 
est and  surest  mode  of  influencing  their  feelings  and  opinions. 

At  the  time  when  Dr.  Carey  commenced  his  career  of  Orien- 
tal study,  the  fecilities  that  have  since  accumulated  were  wholly 
wanting,  and  the  student  was  destitute  of  all  elementary  aid. 


394  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

With  the  exception  of  those  languages  which  are  regarded  by 
the  natives  of  India  as  sacred  and  classical,  such  as  the  Arabic 
and  Sanscrit,  few  of  the  Indian  dialects  have  ever  been  reduced 
to  their  elements  by  original  writers.  The  principles  of  their 
construction  are  preserved  by  practice  alone,  and  a  grammar 
or  a  vocabulary  forms  no  part  of  such  scanty  literature  as  they 
may  happen  to  possess :  accustomed  from  infancy  to  the  famil- 
iar use  of  their  vernacular  inflexions  and  idioms,  the  natives 
of  India  never  thought  it  necessary  to  lay  down  rules  for  their 
application  ;  and  even  in  the  present  day  they  cannot,  without 
difiiculty,  be  prevailed  upon  to  study  systematically  the  dialects 
which  they  daily  and  hourly  speak.  Europeans,  however,  are 
differently  circumstanced.  With  them  the  precepts  must  pre- 
cede the  practice,  if  they  wish  to  attain  a  critical  knowledge 
of  a  foreign  tongue.  But  when  the  Oriental  languages  first 
became  the  subjects  of  investigation,  those  precepts  were  yet 
to  be  developed,  and  the  early  students  had  therefore,  as  they 
gathered  words  and  phrases,  to  investigate  the  principles  upon 
which  they  were  constructed,  and  to  frame,  as  they  proceeded, 
a  grammar  for  themselves.  The  talents  of  Dr.  Carey  were 
eminently  adapted  to  such  an  undertaking,  and,  combining  with 
the  necessities  of  himself  and  of  others,  engaged  him,  at  vari- 
ous periods,  in  the  compilation  of  original  and  valuable  ele- 
mentary works.  His  Sanscrit  grammar  was  the  first  complete 
grammar  that  was  published ;  his  Telinga  grammar  was  the 
first  printed  in  English  ;  his  Karnata  and  Mahratta  grammars 
were  the  first  published  works  developing  the  structure  of 
those  languages;  his  Mahratta  dictionary  was  also  one  of  the 
first  attempts  in  the  lexicography  of  that  dialect ;  his  Punjabi 
grammar  is  still  the  only  authority  that  exists  for  the  language 
of  the  Shikh  nation  ;  and,  although  he  must  concede  to  Halhed 
the  credit  of  first  reducing  to  rule  the  construction  of  the  Ben- 
gali tongue,  yet,  by  his  own  grammar  and  dictionary,  and  other 
useful  rudimental  publications.  Dr.  Carey  may  claim  the  merit 
of  having  raised  it  from  the  condition  of  a  rude  and  unsettled 
dialect,  to  the  character  of  a  regular  and  permanent  form  of 
speech,  possessing  something  of  a  literature,  and  capable, 
through  its  intimate  relation  to  the  Sanscrit,  of  becoming  a 
refined  and  comprehensive  vehicle  for  the  diffusion  of  sound 
knowledge  and  religious  truth. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET.  395 

The  first  of  the  Indian  tongues  to  which  the  attention  of 
Dr.  Carey  was  directed,  was  naturally  that  of  the  province 
which  was  the  scene  of  his  missionary  duties,  Bengal.  He 
soon  found,  however,  that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  Bengali 
was  unattainable,  without  a  conversancy  with  Sanscrit,  which 
he  always  regarded  as  '  the  parent  of  nearly  all  the  colloquial 
dialects  of  India,'  *  and  '  the  current  medium  of  conversation 
amongst  the  Hindus,  until  gradually  corrupted  by  a  number  of 
local  causes,  so  as  to  form  the  languages  at  present  spoken  in 
the  various  parts  of  Hhidostan,  and  perhaps  those  of  some  of 
the  neighboring  countries.'  f  He  commenced  the  study  of 
Sanscrit,  therefore,  at  an  early  period  of  his  residence,  and  his 
labors  in  it  have  placed  him  high  amongst  the  most  distin- 
guished of  our  Sanscrit  scholars.  It  appears  also  that  he  was 
early  induced  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  Mahratta. 

Upon  the  first  establishment  of  the  college  of  Fort  William, 
by  Marquis  Wellesley,  in  1800,  the  known  attainments  of  Dr. 
Carey  pointed  him  out  to  the  government  of  India  as  a  fit 
person  to  be  attached  to  the  new  institution,  and  he  was  ac- 
cordingly engaged  to  give  tuition  in  the  Sanscrit,  Bengali,  and 
Mahratta  languages,  with  the  title  of  teacher ;  his  own  humili- 
ty disclaiming  the  more  ambitious  designation  of  professor,  at 
least  until  the  year  1807,  when  he  submitted  to  be  so  entitled. 
He  continued  to  occupy  this  situation  until  the  virtual  abolition 
of  the  college  by  the  discontinuance  of  European  professors 
in  1830-1.  He  then  retired  upon  a  pension,  far  from  adequate 
to  the  length  and  value  of  his  services,  and  the  character  for 
ability,  industry,  regularity  and  judgment  which  he  had 
uniformly  maintained. 

One  of  the  first  works  published  by  Dr.  Carey  was  his 
grammar  of  the  Sanscrit  language.  In  his  dedication  to  Lord 
Wellesley,  dated  in  1806,  he  terms  it  'the  first  elementary 
work  in  the  Sanscrit  language  yet  published.'  t     The  first  and 

*  Preface  to  the  Sanscrit  Grammar,  1806. 

f  Preface  to  Bengali  Dictionary,  1818. 

J  'A  Grammar  of  the  Sanscrit  Language,  composed  from  the  works  of  the  most 
esteemed  Grammarians;  to  which  are  added,  Examples  for  the  Exercise  of  the 
Student,  and  a  complete  list  of  the  Dhatooa  or  Roots.  By  W.  Carey,  Teacher  of 
the  Sanscrit,  Bengali,  and  Mahratta  Languages,  in  the  College  of  Fort  William, 
Serampore.     Mission  Press,  1806.' 


396  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

only  volume  of  Mr.  Colebrooke's  grammar  was  printed  in  1805, 
and  would  therefore  be  entitled  to  the  merit  of  priority;  but, 
in  point  of  fact,  it  was  preceded  by  a  more  than  equal  portion 
of  Dr.  Carey's  work,  a  part  of  which,  containing  the  first  three 
books,  was  published  in  1804,  although  the  whole  did  not  ap- 
pear until  a  later  date.  The  contemporaneous  appearance  of 
the  two  works  is  evidence  that  they  were  compiled  separately 
and  independently,  and  that  the  later  could  not  in  any  way  have 
been  indebted  to  the  earlier  of  the  two.  This  is  also  manifest 
from  the  difference  that  prevails  in  the  plan  of  them,  and  their 
resting  upon  the  authorities  of  various  schools.  Dr.  Carey 
may  be  considered,  therefore,  correct  in  calling  his  the  first 
complete  grammar  of  the  Sanscrit  language ;  and  it  was  un- 
doubtedly an  original  work,  which  made  its  appearance  in  the 
very  infancy  of  Sanscrit  study. 

The  Sanscrit  grammar  of  Dr.  Carey  is  a  work  of  immense 
extent  and  labor.  It  forms  a  quarto  volume  of  more  than  a 
thousand  pages.  It  is  divided  into  five  books ;  the  first  treats 
of  the  letters  and  of  their  euphonic  combinations  ;  the  second, 
of  declension  ;  the  third,  of  conjugation;  the  fourth,  of  the 
formation  of  derivative  nouns;  and  the  fifth,  of  syntax.  At- 
tached to  the  syntax,  is  a  translation  of  the  first  three  chapters 
of  the  gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  and  the  text  of  one  of  the 
Upanishads  or  theological  sections  of  the  Yajur  Veda,  with  an 
English  version.  There  is  also  a  very  useful  appendix,  con- 
sisting of  a  list  of  all  the  radicals  of  the  Sanscrit  language, 
alphabetically  arranged,  with  the  indicatory  letters  of  their 
respective  conjugations,  and  their  meanings  both  in  Sanscrit 
and  English.  A  copious  index  concludes  the  grammar.  The 
general  plan  of  the  work  is  to  collect  the  principal  rules  of 
each  subject  into  separate  sections,  and  then  to  subjoin  the 
examples,  connected  with  the  foregoing  precepts  by  appropri- 
ate numbers.  This  is  particularly  the  case  in  the  books  on 
declension  and  conjugation:  in  the  others, the  rules  and  exem- 
plifications are  more  nearly  approximated.  The  rules  are 
given  in  the  technical  language  of  the  authorities  followed, 
which  are  especially  the  works  current  in  the  lower  Gangetic 
provinces,  or  those  of  Vopadeva,  Kramadeswara,  Durgadasa, 
&c.  To  a  mere  English  student  the  rules  are  of  a  somewhat 
unusual,  and  therefore  unintelligible,  character ;  and  to  make 


MEMOIR   OF    DR.  CAREY.  397 

a  satisfactory  use  of  this  grammar,  a  native  grammar,  particu> 
larly  the  Mugdhabodha,  of  Vopadeva,  should  be  read  at  the 
same  time  with  it.  All  that  is  strange  and  perplexing  will 
then  disappear,  and  the  work  of  the  English  grammarian  will 
be  found  a  most  serviceable  illustration  and  interpreter  of  the 
brief  and  technical  compilation  of  the  Indian  philologist. 
It  is  some  disadvantage,  however,  to  Dr.  Carey's  work,  that 
the  system  which  he  followed,  and  which  the  circumstances 
of  his  situation  recommended,  is  that  which  is  peculiar  to  Ben- 
gal, and  is  of  comparatively  local  and  limited  currency.  The 
unwieldy  size  of  the  volume,  arising,  not  only  from  the  abun- 
dance of  materials,  but  from  the  unnecessary  size  given  to  the 
Sanscrit  types  in  the  early  stages  of  Hindu  typography,  is 
another  venial  imperfection  :  but,  notwithstanding  these  draw- 
backs, Carey's  Sanscrit  Grammar  is  a  work  of  very  great 
merit;  and  in  the  immense  accumulation  of  useful  examples 
and  illustrations  which  it  affords,  especially  in  the  paradigmas 
of  the  verbs,  and  in  the  development  of  derivative  nouns,  it  is 
of  invaluable  assistance  both  to  the  beginner  and  to  the  more 
advanced  student. 

Dr.  Carey  never  engaged  to  any  considerable  extent  in  the 
prosecution  of  Hindu  literature  unconnected  with  philological 
research.  The  only  published  work  in  which  he  is  known  to 
have  been  concerned,  is  the  text  of  the  epic  poem,  the  Rama- 
yana,  which  he  edited,  and  to  which  he  subjoined  a  translation, 
in  concert  with  Mr.  Marshman.*  This  publication  originated 
with  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  and  the  Council  of  the 
College  of  Fort  William,  and  was  the  first  of  an  intended 
series  of  translations  from  Sanscrit,  designed  '  to  disseminate 
a  just  idea  of  the  religion  and  literature,  the  manners  and 
customs,  of  the  Hindus.' f  The  Ramayana  was  the  work  first 
selected  by  a  committee  of  the  Asiatic  Society  and  the  Col- 
lege Council,  and  the  translators  were  employed  under  their 
patronage  and  instructions.     The  work,  which  was  begun  in 

*  '  The  R4m&yana  of  Valmeeki,  in  the  original  Sanscrit,  with  a  Prose  Transla- 
tion and  Explanatory  Notes.  By  Dr.  Careit  and  Joshua  Marshman,  Serampore.' 
Vol.  I,  1806;  vol.  II,  1808;  vol.  Ill,  1810.  The  latest  lists  of  Serampore  transla- 
tions announce  four  volumes  of  the  Ramayana,  but  it  is  not  known  when  the  fourth, 
was  published. 

t  Preface  to  the  1st  vol. 

35 


398  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

1806,  had  advanced,  in  1810,  as  far  as  three  volumes,  comprising 
only  two  out  of  the  seven  books  of  the  original.  It  was  either 
then  or  shortly  afterwards  discontinued ;  the  patronage,  it  is 
believed,  being  withdrawn,  and  the  means  of  its  prosecution 
having  therefore  ceased.  The  task,  in  truth,  was  not  very 
congenial  to  the  talents  or  the  pursuits  of  the  translators.  A 
mytho-epic  poem  was  scarcely  within  the  scope  of  mission- 
ary study,  except  as  subsidiary  to  the  acquirement  of  the  lan- 
guage, or  to  an  acquaintance  with  the  belief  of  the  Hindus. 
The  text  is  printed  with  considerable  care ;  but  the  translation, 
in  which  the  translators  avow  that  'elegance  of  expression,  and 
even  perspicuity,  has  been  sacrificed  to  a  strict  conformity  to 
the  original,'  does  not  adequately  or  truly  represent  the  origin- 
al, although  it  is  written  in  a  style  of  exceeding  simplicity. 
The  book  was  also  printed  in  an  injudicious  form,  and  would, 
if  the  work  had  been  completed,  have  extended  to  a  very  in- 
convenient and  expensive  multiplication  of  volumes. 

The  remaining  contributions  of  Dr.  Carey  to  Sanscrit  liter- 
ature are  less  easy  to  be  defined.  Mr.  Colebrooke  has  ac- 
knowledged his  assistance  in  conducting  the  Amara  Kosha 
through  the  press  at  Serampore ;  and  the  same  gentleman,  in 
his  introductory  remarks  to  the  edition  of  the  Hitopadesa, 
ascribes  to  Dr.  Carey  the  office  of  editor.*  In  this  publica- 
tion, the  text  of  the  Hitopadesa,  the  original  of  Pilpay's  Fables, 
was  first  printed  upon  a  careful  collation  of  six  manuscript 
copies ;  and  although  many  errors  require  correction,  yet  they 
are  not  more  than  might  have  been  expected  from  the  vari- 
ations and  defects  of  the  manuscripts,  and  the  novelty  of  the 
task,  it  being  the  first  Sanscrit  book  ever  printed  in  the  Deva- 
nagari  character.  The  same  volume  comprehends  an  epitome 
of  a  collection  of  Tales,  called  the  Dasa  Kumara,  and  the 
three  Satakas,  or  Poetical  Centos  of  Bhartri  Hari.  Besides 
this  acknowledged  aid  to  the  cultivation  of  Sanscrit,  it  seems 
probable  that  Dr.  Carey  assisted  Mr.  Ward  in  his  Account  of 
the  Hindus,  especially  in  the  abstracts  and  translations  of  the 
philosophical  works  there  given.  It  was  understood,  also, 
that  he  had  prepared  for  press  some  translations  of  treatises 
on  the  metaphysical  system  called  Saukhya ;  but  these  were 

*  '  The  editor,  Mr.  Carey,  undertook  the  publication  on  a  suggestion  from  the 
council  of  the  college  of  Fort  William,  and  under  the  patronage  of  government.' 


MEMOIR    or    DR.  CAREY.  399 

never  published.  It  was  not  in  Dr.  Carey's  nature  to  volunteer  a 
display  of  his  erudition,  and  the  literary  labors  already  ad- 
verted to  arose  in  a  great  measure  out  of  his  connexion  with 
the  college  of  Calcutta,  or  were  suggested  to  him  by  those 
whose  authority  he  respected,  and  to  whose  wishes  he  thought 
it  incumbent  upon  him  to  attend.  It  may  be  added,  that  Dr. 
Carey  spoke  Sanscrit  with  fluency  and  correctness. 

The  department  of  Oriental  literature  which  may  be  con- 
sidered in  an  especial  manner  as  that  over  which  Dr.  Carey 
presided,  was,  however,  the  language  and  literature  of  Bengal. 
The  situation  of  the  capital  of  British  India;  the  extent  and 
importance  of  the  province,  comprehending  a  population,  it 
has  been  computed,  of  '25,000,000;  and  the  multiplied  and 
intimate  relations  which  have  grown  out  of  its  long-continued 
connexion  with  British  rule,  have  always  rendered  it  advisable 
to  rear  a  body  of  public  functionaries,  competent  to  discharge 
in  Bengal  the  duties  of  their  appointments  for  themselves,  and 
without  the  intermediation  of  native  agents.  Hence  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  the  junior  members  of  the  Bengal 
civil  service  were  enjoined  or  induced  to  acquire  a  knowledge 
of  Bengali,  during  their  early  career  as  students  in  the  college 
of  Fort  William ;  and  the  tuition  of  a  permanently  numerous 
class  devolved  therefore  upon  the  Bengali  professor.  When 
Mr.  Carey  commenced  his  lectures,  there  were  scarce  any  but 
viva  voce  means  of  communicating  instruction.  There  were 
no  printed  books.  Manuscripts  were  rare ;  and  the  style  or 
tendency  of  the  few  that  were  procurable,  precluded  their 
employment  as  class-books.  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to 
prepare  works  that  should  be  available  for  this  purpose ;  and 
so  assiduously  and  zealously  did  Dr.  Carey  apply  himself  to 
this  object,  that,  either  by  his  own  exertions,  or  those  of  others, 
which  he  instigated  and  superintended,  he  left  not  only  the 
students  of  the  language  well  provided  with  elementary  books, 
but  supplied  standard  compositions  to  the  natives  of  Bengal, 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  a  cultivated  tongue  and  flourishing 
literature  throughout  the  country. 

According  to  a  highly  competent  authority.  Baboo  Ram 
Comol  Shen,  the  compiler  of  a  valuable  dictionary,  English 
and  Bengali,  which  has  recently  arrived  in  England,  it  ap- 
pears, that  no  book  was  even  written  in  the  language  of  Ben- 


400  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

gal  prior  to  the  sixteenth  century.  From  that  date,  to  the 
commencement  of  the  nineteenth,  a  few  legendary  tales  were 
composed,  and  some  Sanscrit  compositions  were  translated, 
but  no  elementary  books  were  written ;  and  the  cultivation  of 
the  language,  insignificant  as  it  had  been,  was  on  the  decline 
when  the  college  of  Fort  William  was  founded.  'From  this 
lime  forward,'  says  our  author,  'writing  Bengali  correctly  may 
be  said  to  have  begun  in  Calcutta,  and  a  number  of  books 
were  supplied  by  the  Serampore  press,  which  set  the  example 
of  printing  works  in  this  and  other  eastern  languages.  The 
college  pundits,  following  up  the  plan,  produced  many  excellent 
works;  amongst  them  the  late  Mrityunjaya  Vidyalaukara,  the 
head  pundit  of  the  College,  was  the  most  eminent.*  1  must 
acknowledge,  here,  that  whatever  has  been  done  towards  the 
revival  of  the  Bengali  language,  its  improvement,  and,  in  fact, 
the  establishment  of  it  as  a  language,  must  be  attributed  to 
that  excellent  man.  Dr.  Carey,  and  his  colleagues,  by  whose 
liberality  and  great  exertions  many  works  have  been  carried 
through  the  press,  and  the  general  tone  of  the  language  of 
this  province  has  been  so  greatly  raised.'  No  individual  is 
better  qualified  than  the  talented  native  whose  words  are  here 
cited,  to  appreciate  accurately  the  share  taken  by  Dr.  Carey 
in  the  improvement  of  the  language  and  literature  of  his 
country. 

The  first  grammar  of  the  language  of  Bengal  was  com- 
piled by  Mr.  Halhed,  of  the  East  India  Company's  civil  service, 
and  printed  at  Hoogly  in  1783.  It  is  a  work  of  merit ;  but  in 
the  interval  that  had  elapsed  between  its  appearance  and  the 
institution  of  public  lectures  in  Bengali,  it  had  probably  become 
scarce,  and  was  no  longer  available  for  the  wants  of  the  students 
of  the  college.  Dr.  Carey  printed  the  first  edition  of  his  grammar 
in  1801 ;  and  whilst  acknowledging  the  aid  he  had  derived  from 
Halhed,  observes,  'I  have  made  some  distinctions  and  obser- 
vations not  noticed  by  him,  particularly  on  the  declension  of 
nouns  and  verbs,  and  the  use  of  particles.'     In  the  preface  to 

*  Mrityunja}'a  pundit  was  especially  attached  to  the  service  of  Dr.  Carey  as 
professor  in  the  college,  and  was  held  by  him  in  high  and  deserved  estimation.  He 
is  the  individual  whose  portrait  is  included  in  the  picture  taken  by  Mr.  Home  of  Dr. 
Carey,  and  which  has  been  engraved.  He  continued  until  his  death  associated  with 
his  master  and  friend  in  useful  literary  occupatiuns. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  401 

his  second  edition,  printed  in  1805,  he  remarks,  '  Since  the 
first  edition  of  this  work  was  published,  the  writer  has  had  an 
opportunity  of  obtaining  a  more  accurate  knowledge  of  this 
language.  The  result  of  his  application  to  it  he  has  endeavor- 
ed to  give  in  the  following  pages,  which,  on  account  of  the 
variations  from  the  former  edition,  may  be  esteemed  a  new 
work.'  The  variations  alluded  to  were  chiefly  of  the  natare 
of  additions,  particularly  in  the  declension  and  derivation  of 
nouns,  and  in  the  conjugations  of  the  verbs,  extending  the 
grammar  to  nearly  double  its  original  size.  Several  editions 
have  been  subsequently  printed,  but  they  have  not  differed  in 
any  material  respect  from  the  second  and  more  perfect  form. 

The  Bengali  grammar  of  Dr.  Carey,  explains  the  peculiarities 
of  the  Bengali  alphabet,  and  the  combination  of  its  letters;  the 
declension  of  substantives,  and  formation  of  derivative  nouns; 
the  inflexions  of  adjectives  and  pronouns  ;  and  the  conjugations 
of  the  verbs :  it  gives  copious  lists  and  descriptions  of  the  inde- 
clinable verbs,  adverbs,  prepositions,  &c.,  and  closes  with  the 
syntax,  and  an  appendix  of  numerals,  and  tables  of  weights 
and  measures.  The  rules  are  comprehensive,  though  ex- 
pressed with  brevity  and  simplicity ;  and  the  examples  are 
sufficiently  numerous  and  well  chosen.  The  syntax  is  the 
least  satisfactorily  illustrated ;  but  this  defect  was  fully  reme- 
died by  a  separate  publication,  printed  also  in  1801,  of  Dia- 
logues in  Bengali,  with  a  translation  into  English,  comprising 
a  great  variety  of  idioms  and  phrases.  This  work,  also,  has 
passed  through  several  editions ;  and,  independently  of  its 
merit  as  a  help  to  the  acquisition  of  the  language,  it  presents, 
in  many  respects,  a  curious  and  lively  picture  of  the  manners, 
feelings,  and  notions  of  the  natives  of  Bengal. 

A  more  laborious  and  important  publication  was  effected  at 
a  later  period  by  Dr.  Carey,  in  his  Bengali  and  English  dic- 
tionary. The  first  volume  was  printed  in  1815 ;  but  the  typo- 
graphical form  adopted,  being  found  likely  to  extend  the  work 
to  an  inconvenient  size,  it  was  subsequently  reprinted  in  1818: 
a  second  and  third  volume  appeared  in  1825.  These  three 
volumes  comprehend  above  two  thousand  quarto  pages, 
and  about  eighty  thousand  words;  a  number  that  equally 
demonstrates  the  copiousness  of  the  language,  and  the  indus- 
try of  the  compiler.  Besides  the  meanings  of  the  words,  their 
35* 


402  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

derivation  is  given  wherever  ascertainable.  This  is  ahnost 
always  the  case,  as  the  great  mass  of  the  words  are  Sanscrit. 
Mr.  Halhed  long  since  maintained  '  the  impossibility  of  learn- 
ing the  Bengal  dialect  without  a  general  and  comprehensive 
idea  of  the  Sanscrit,  from  the  close  and  intimate  connexion 
between  the  two ;'  and  Dr.  Carey  observes,  with  regard  to  the 
materials  of  his  dictionary,  'considerably  more  than  three 
fourths  of  the  words  are  pure  Sanscrit,  and  those  composing 
the  greatest  part  of  the  remainder  are  so  little  corrupted  that 
their  origin  may  be  traced  without  difficulty.'  Dr.  Carey  also 
states,  that  he  endeavored  to  introduce  into  the  dictionary 
every  simple  word  used  in  the  language,  and  all  the  compound 
terms  which  are  commonly  current,  or  which  are  to  be  found 
in  Bengali  works,  whether  published  or  unpublished.  It  may 
be  thought,  indeed,  that  in  the  latter  respect  he  has  been  more 
scrupulous  than  was  absolutely  necessary,  and  has  inserted 
compounds  which  might  have  been  dispensed  with,  their 
analysis  being  obvious,  and  their  elements  being  explained  in 
their  appropriate  places.  The  dictionary  also  includes  many 
derivative  terms,  and  privative,  attributive,  and  abstract  nouns, 
which,  though  of  legitimate  construction,  may  rarely  occur  in 
composition,  and  are  of  palpable  signification.  The  insertion 
of  such  words,  however,  is  no  otherwise  objectionable,  than 
that  it  tends  to  swell  the  dictionary  to  an  inconvenient  and 
costly  bulk,  and  must  have  added  materially  to  the  trouble  of 
the  compiler;  at  the  same  time  it  evinces  his  careful  research, 
his  conscientious  exactitude,  and  his  unwearied  industry.  The 
English  equivalents  of  the  Bengali  words  are  well  chosen,  and 
of  unquestionable  accuracy.  Local  terms  are  rendered  with 
that  correctness  which  Dr.  Carey's  knowledge  of  the  manners 
of  the  natives,  and  his  long  domestication  amongst  them,  en- 
abled him  to  attain ;  and  his  scientific  acquirements,  and  con- 
versancy  with  the  subjects  of  natural  history,  qualified  him  to 
employ,  and  not  unfrequently  to  devise,  characteristic  de- 
nominations for  the  products  of  the  animal  or  vegetable  world 
peculiar  to  the  East.  The  objection  taken  to  this  dictionary, 
on  account  of  its  bulk,  was  subsequently  obviated  by  the  pub- 
lication of  an  abridgment,  prepared  under  Dr.  Carey's  own 
superintendence,  by  Mr.  J.  Marshman,  printed  in  1827.  Most 
of  the  compound  and  derivative  terms  were  omitted,  and  the 


MEMOIR   OF    DR.  CAREY.  403 

publication  was  reduced  to  a  thick  octavo  volume.  Although, 
however,  this  has  the  advantage  of  being  more  readily  con- 
sulted, it  by  no  means  obviates  the  necessity  of  the  original, 
to  all  who  seek  to  acquire  any  thing  beyond  the  rudiments  of 
the  Bengali  language,  in  which  the  dictionary  of  Dr.  Carey 
must  ever  be  regarded  as  a  standard  authority. 

In  addition  to  these  elementary  works,  which  were  es- 
pecially his  own.  Dr.  Carey  took  an  early  and  active  part  in 
the  promotion  and  preparation  of  works  intended  to  facilitate 
the  acquisition  of  the  Bengali  language.  This  duty  was  most 
urgent  in  the  early  period  of  his  career,  when  Bengali  works, 
as  we  have  seen,  had  scarcely  any  existence  even  in  manu- 
script, and  printing  was  utterly  unknown  to  the  natives  of 
Bengal.  A  press  was  speedily  established  by  Dr.  Carey  and 
his  colleagues  at  Serampore,  and  in  subordination  to  its  espe- 
cial purpose  of  multiplying  copies  of  translations  of  the 
Scriptures,  it  was  devoted  to  the  printing  of  the  first  efforts  of 
native  literary  talent.  Various  translations  from  Sanscrit  into 
Bengali,  as  the  Hitopadesa,  the  Buttees  Sinhasan,  and  others, 
were  prepared  and  printed  in  1801.  In  1802  the  early  trans- 
lations of  the  Ramayana  and  Mahabharat,  were  published; 
and  from  that  time  to  the  present  day  many  useful  works  in 
Bengali,  as  well  as  in  other  languages,  have  issued  from  the 
Serampore  press,  to  most  of  which  Dr.  Carey  contributed 
encouragement  or  aid.  The  indirect  promotion  of  Bengali 
literature,  effected  by  the  example  and  impulse  of  the  press  of 
Serampore,  has  been  still  more  important,  and  of  late  years 
has  rendered  it  less  necessary  for  the  directors  of  that  estab- 
lishment to  originate  compositions  in  the  language  of  Bengal. 
Calcutta  now  abounds  with  printing-presses,  belonging  either 
to  Europeans  or  to  natives,  which  are  kept  actively  at  work 
upon  the  productions  of  indigenous  talent  and  attainment : 
a  striking  contrast  witli  the  state  of  things  thirty  years  ago, 
when  the  means  of  promulgating  knowledge  were  as  defect- 
ive as  the  disposition  to  seek  or  the  ability  to  impart  it,  and  an 
alteration  for  which  Bengal  is  mainly  indebted  to  Dr.  Carey 
and  the  missionaries  of  Serampore. 

Of  a  less  prominent,  but  equally  useful  character,  were  the 
labors  of  Dr.  Carey  in  other  Indian  dialects.  The  political  re- 
lations that  arose  between  the  British  government  and  the 


404  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

Mahratta  states,  about  the  date  of  the  institution  of  the  col- 
lege of  Fort  William,  recommended  the  introduction  of  the 
study  of  the  Mahratta  tongue,  and  to  Dr.  Carey  was  assigned 
the  office  of  teaching  it.  In  this,  as  in  the  other  dialects,  ele- 
mentary books  were  wanting,  and  Dr.  Carey,  to  use  his  own 
expressions,  '  thought  it  his  duty  to  do  the  utmost  in  his  power 
towards  facilitating  its  acquisition  by  attempting  a  grammar.' 
A  Mahratta  grammar,  he  states,  had  been  written  many  years 
before  in  the  Portuguese  tongue,  but  he  was  not  able  to  pro- 
cure a  copy,  and  was  therefore  obliged  to  reduce  the  language 
to  its  rudiments  for  himself  This  work  was  published  in 
1805,  and  five  years  afterwards  he  printed  a  Mahratta  diction- 
ary, containing  about  ten  thousand  words.  Of  late  years 
considerable  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  cultivation  of 
Mahratta  in  the  presidency  of  Bombay,  and  more  perfect  and 
elaborate  grammars  and  dictionaries  have  been  given  to  the 
public.  To  Dr.  Carey,  however,  belongs  the  merit  of  having 
set  the  example,  and  of  having,  under  the  most  un  propitious 
circumstances,  first  rendered  the  language  attainable  by  Euro- 
pean students. 

The  same  merit  applies  to  his  grammars  of  the  Telinga, 
Kurnata,  and  Punjabi  dialects.  The  Telinga  was  the  first 
published  grammar  of  that  tongue  in  English.  For  the  Kur- 
nata grammar,  also,  no  model  existed,  nor  was  there  any  for 
the  Punjabi.  The  two  former  have  been  succeeded  by  works 
prepared  in  the  countries  where  these  languages  are  spoken, 
and  with  the  benefit  of  more  protracted  and  regular  cultiva- 
tion ;  but  the  Punjabi  grammar  of  Dr.  Carey  is  still  the  only 
medium  through  which  a  conversancy  with  the  dialect  spoken 
between  the  Indus  and  the  Setlej,  is  to  be  obtained.  These 
works  are  all  characterized  by  the  same  features, — succinctness 
and  perspicuity ;  and  are  excellently  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
young  students.  The  intentions  of  their  author,  and  the  modest 
estimate  he  formed  of  the  value  of  his  productions,  are  thus 
stated  in  the  preface  to  his  Telinga  grammar:  'A  wish  to 
contribute  to  the  more  extensive  cultivation  of  the  Indian  lan- 
guages, has  induced  the  writer  to  undertake  this  work. 
Should  this  object  be  in  any  measure  accomplished  hereby,  he 
will  feel  gratified ;  and  still  more  so,  should  it  induce  any  one 
who   has  opportunity  and   leisure   to   execute   any  of  these 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  405 

elementary  works  which  are  necessary  to  render  us  familiar 
with  the  languages  of  India,  so  highly  deserving  of  cultivation.' 
The  wish  here  expressed  has  been,  of  late  years,  satisfactorily 
complied  with ;  and  its  fulfilment  is,  in  a  great  degree,  owing 
to  the  example  set  by  the  venerable  scholar  by  whom  it  was 
entertained. 

In  addition  to  the  works  which  were  intended  to  facilitate 
the  acquirement  of  the  vernacular  languages.  Dr.  Carey  took 
an  active  interest  in  every  attempt  to  make  India  familiarly 
known,  both  to  its  rulers  and  its  people.  He  was  an  early 
associate  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  and  furnished  one 
or  two  instructive  papers  to  the  Researches ;  and  he  was  a 
diligent  contributor  to  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Calcutta,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  founders,  and  for  some  time  presi- 
dent. Besides  a  valuable  catalogue  of  the  plants  of  the  Com- 
pany's Botanical  Garden  at  Calcutta,  which  he  printed  in  1814, 
Dr.  Carey  was  engaged,  for  several  years,  in  the  publication  of 
a  Flora  Indica,  in  concert  with  Dr.  Wallich:  two  volumes 
only  of  this  work  have  appeared.  He  had  contemplated  other 
works  on  the  natural  history  of  India,  and  particularly  on  its 
ornithology,  with  which  view  he  had  at  one  time  formed  a 
collection  of  birds,  that  he  might  observe  their  living  habits. 
But  his  public  duties,  his  literary  pursuits,  and  the  task  to 
which  his  best  energies  were  dedicated,  prevented  him  from 
accomplishing  this  desirable  object.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  he  also  bore  a  part  in  the  periodical  publications  of  the 
Serampore  press,  particularly  in  the  journal  denominated  The 
Friend  of  India,  which  was  published  monthly  or  quarterly, 
for  several  years,  at  Serampore,  and  in  vv^hich,  questions  of 
high  importance  to  the  moral  and  political  improvement  of 
British  India  were  discussed  with  ability,  experience  and  judg- 
ment. 

These  various  pursuits  were,  however,  all  secondary  to  the 
main  end  of  multiplying  and  disseminating  translations  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  which  has  been  steadily  pursued  by  the  So- 
ciety of  which  he  was  the  chief  ornament,  for  about  forty  years. 
It  appears  that  Dr.  Carey  commenced  his  labors  in  this  depart- 
ment before  1794,*  and  that  he  had  completed  a  version  into 

*  '  Tenth  Memoir  of  Translations  by  the  Serampore  brethren.' 


406  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  CAREY. 

Bengali  of  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament,  and  of  part  of  the 
Old,  by  1796.  The  former  was  printed  and  circulated  in  1801, 
and  a  translation  of  the  Psalms  and  of  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah 
was  printed  in  1803.  His  next  undertaking  was  a  Sanscrit 
translation,  in  which  the  New  Testament  was  printed  in  1808, 
the  Pentateuch  in  1811,  the  historical  books  in  1815,  and  the 
hagiography  in  1816.  Subsequently,  improved  editions  of 
both  versions  were  taken  in  hand  by  the  original  translator, 
and  a  revised  version  of  the  Bengali  was  prepared  and  pub- 
lished in  1832.*  Considerable  advance  had  been  also  made  in 
the  revisal  of  the  Sanscrit  translation,  and  the  Pentateuch  and 
historical  books  had  been  printed.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  therefore, 
that  Dr.  Carey  may  have  been  spared  to  put  the  finishing  hand 
to  the  work,  at  least  in  manuscript,  and  thus  wound  up  his 
pious  labors  and  his  well-spent  life  together. 

The  revised  edition  of  Dr.  Carey's  Sanscrit  translation  will, 
no  doubt,  be  exempt  from  many  of  those  imperfections  which 
its  preparation  at  so  early  a  period  of  Sanscrit  study  rendered 
unavoidable.  These  defects  were  neither  incorrectness  nor 
obscurity;  but  inelegance  of  expression  and  harshness  of  con- 
struction. The  latter  was,  in  a  great  measure,  inseparable 
from  the  principle  which  appears  to  have  influenced  all  the 
S^'ampore  versions, — that  of  translating  as  closely  to  the  letter 
of  the  text  as  practicable;  a  rigor  of  fidelity  that  cannot  fail  to 
cramp  and  distort  the  style  of  the  translation.  The  novelty  of 
the  subject,  also,  and  the  necessity  of  employing  words  to 
designate  meanings  which,  although  admissible,  were  unusual 
and  unknown,  contributed  to  disfigure  the  composition  ;  and 
the  Sanscrit  version  has,  accordingly,  never  been  popular  with 
the  learned  natives  of  India,  for  whose  use,  more  particularly, 
it  was  designed. 

The  intimate  and  long-continued  intercourse  maintained  by 
Dr.  Carey  with  all  classes  of  the  natives  of  Bengal,  and  the 
repeated  opportunities  of  revision  afforded  by  the  multiplied 
editions  of  his  Bengali  translations,  have  very  naturally  im- 
proved their  character,  and  rendered  them  generally  intelligi- 
ble and  acceptable  to  the  population  of  the  province.     The 

*  This  forms  the  third  edition  of  part  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  fourth  of 
the  rest,  the  sixth  edition  of  the  New  Testament,  and  the  seventh  of  the  gospels. 
—Tenth  Memoir,  p.  7. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  407 

latest  editions,  however,  still  retain  something  of  the  newness 
of  the  first;  and  the  style  is  less  easy  and  idiomatic  than  might 
have  been  expected.  They  are,  however,  performances'^  of 
real  merit,  and  have  been  very  extensively  serviceable  in  dif- 
fusing accurate  notions  of  gospel  truth  amongst  the  millions 
of  Bengal. 

Shortly  after  the  establishment  of  Dr.  Carey  and  his  breth- 
ren at  Serampore,  they  devised  and  carried  into  execution  a 
comprehensive  scheme  for  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures 
into  all  the  languages  of  India.  Accordingly,  they  published, 
in  the  course  of  about  five-and-twenty  years,  translations  of 
portions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  more  or  less  consid- 
erable, in  forty  different  dialects.  It  was  not  to  be  supposed, 
nor  did  they  pretend,  that  they  were  conversant  with  all  these 
forms  of  speech.  The  mode  they  adopted  has  been  explained 
by  the  missionaries  in  several  of  their  reports.  Each  version 
was  made  by  a  competent  native,  to  whom  the  language  of 
the  translation  to  be  prepared  was  vernacular,  and  who  was 
also  conversant  with  one  or  more  of  the  languages  into  which 
the  original  had  been  previously  translated.  The  individuals 
employed  on  the  task  usually  sat  and  wrote  in  the  same  room ; 
and,  when  any  difficulty  arose,  had  thus  an  opportunity  of 
referring  to  some  one  or  other  of  their  associates,  who  was 
qualified  to  give  them  information  and  assistance.  Their  per- 
formances were  also  superintended  and  finally  revised  by 
their  European  employers.  The  language  of  the  version 
might  not,  it  is  true,  be  familiar  to  the  reviser ;  but  a  knowl- 
edge of  Sanscrit,  and  of  one  or  two  vernacular  dialects,  was 
usually  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  appreciate  the  general  char- 
acter of  the  translation.  'Above  three  fourths,' say  the  mis- 
sionaries, 'of  the  words  in  most  of  the  secondary  cognate 
languages,  were  understood  in  all  their  bearings,  through  the 
Sanscrit,  the  Bengali,  and  Hindee,  before  those  secondary 
languages  were  begun;  and  in  some  of  them,  even  seven 
eighths  of  the  words,  to  say  nothing  of  the  construction,  the 
idiom,  and  the  usual  figures  of  speech,  in  which  there  is  little 
variation  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Indian  family.'*  There 
can  be  no  question  of  the  general  accuracy  of  this  statement ; 

*  Eighth  Memoir  of  Translations,  &c.,  p.  4. 


408  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

and  a  conversancy  with  Sanscrit  affords  a  highly  useful  key 
to  all  the  dialects  spoken  in  India:  a  knowledge  of  it,  and  of 
one  or  two  of  its  principal  derivatives,  would,  no  doubt,  enable 
the  possessor  to  follow  a  pundit  in  his  explanation  of  aversion 
in  a  form  of  Indian  speech  not  regularly  studied,  and  to  ascer- 
tain its  general  conformity  with  a  given  original.  It  may  be 
doubted,  however,  if  such  preparation  is  sufficient  to  estimate 
the  precise  force  even  of  simple  terms  in  all  cases ;  and  still 
less  can  it  appreciate  idiomatic  phraseology.  It  is  to  be  ap- 
prehended, therefore,  that  many  of  these  versions  are  written 
in  too  scholastic  a  style,  and  partake  too  much  of  the  nature 
of  Sanscrit  compositions,  to  be  universally  understood  by  the 
unlettered  population  of  the  districts  in  which  they  were  de- 
signed to  circulate.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  this  difficulty  is  insuperable  in  the  actual  state  of 
most  of  the  dialects  of  India.  They  are  inadequate  to  the  ex- 
pression of  new  ideas:  terms  for  these  must,  therefore,  be 
borrowed  from  the  kindred  or  parent  tongues,  with  a  certainty 
that  these  equivalents  are  as  unfamiliar  to  the  people  at  large 
as  the  notions  which  they  are  employed  to  convey.  It  was 
scarcely  possible,  therefore,  to  have  published  versions  essen- 
tially dissimilar  from  those  which  have  been  printed ;  and  the 
only  question  is.  Whether  time  was  ripe  for  such  translations 
at  all  ?  Admitting  their  expedience,  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
the  plan  devised  for  their  preparation  was  judicious;  and  it  is 
equally  indisputable,  that  surprising  industry  and  uncommon 
attainments  were  displayed  in  its  execution.  In  this  depart- 
ment. Dr.  Carey  took  a  leading  part ;  and  it  was  in  connexion, 
especially,  with  his  duty  of  revising  the  different  translations, 
that  he  added,  to  his  great  proficiency  in  Sanscrit  and  Bengali, 
a  knowledge  of  those  dialects  whose  elements  he  first  investi- 
gated. Possessed,  in  this  way,  of  at  least  six  different  dialects, 
and  of  Sanscrit,  the  parent  of  the  whole  family,  and  endowed 
with  a  genius  for  philological  investigation.  Dr.  Carey  was 
peculiarly  qualified  to  superintend  the  translation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures into  a  number  of  cognate  languages;  and  it  may  be 
granted  that,  in  combination  with  his  colleagues,  he  carried 
the  project  to  as  successful  an  issue  as  could  have  been  ex- 
pected from  the  bounded  faculties  of  man. 

The  review  which  has  been  thus  attempted  of  Dr.  Carey's 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  409 

labors  in  Oriental  literature,  wlietlier  for  purposes  of  general 
utility,  or  the  special  objects  of  his  mission,  is  necessarily  brief 
and  imperfect.  The  books  referred  to  are  not  all  in  the  writer's 
possession,  and  are  not  procurable,  perhaps,  in  this  country. 
Had  they  been  at  hand,  however,  a  more  detailed  examination 
of  them  would  have  been  of  interest  only  to  the  few  oriental- 
ists who  have  already  formed  their  opinion  of  the  merit  of  the 
works  in  questioo.  Enough  has,  perhaps,  been  said  to  show 
that  Dr.  Carey  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary  powers  of  mind  ;  that 
he  was  endowed  with  prompt  and  acute  apprehension ;  that 
he  must  have  been  capable  of  vigorous  and  enduring  applica- 
tion ;  that  his  tastes  were  varied,  and  his  attainments  vast ; 
and  that  he  perseveringly  and  zealously  devoted  all  his  facul- 
ties and  acquirements  to  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  improve- 
ment of  his  fellow-creatures  in  the  East. 


Summary  View    or    Dr.    Carey's    Character,  with    Re- 
flections. 

The  reader  who  has  consecutively  perused  the  foregoing 
narrative,  will  have  perceived  that,  by  the  native  force  of  his 
own  mind,  and  the  providential  circumstances  through  wdiich 
he  passed,  the  main  features  of  Dr.  Carey's  character  have 
been  made  to  stand  out  with  so  much  prominence,  as  almost 
to  supersede  the  necessity  of  any  final  review  from  the  hand 
of  the  biographer.  Yet,  a  brief  reflection  or  two  may  not  be 
deemed  impertinent  to  the  design  of  such  a  volume;  it  being 
composed,  not  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  the  man 
of  science  or  of  literature, — though  in  each  character  it  will  be 
allowed  he  greatly  excelled, — as  to  portray  a  sound,  and  vig- 
orous, and  simple  Christian  mind,  yielding  itself  to  the  light 
of  truth,  and  obeying,  without  reserve,  the  force  of  great  prin- 
ciples; to  show  to  what  religious  eminence  a  man  of  no  origi- 
nal pretension,  and  with  many  adverse  influences  to  resist, 
under  the  guidance  of  such  light,  and  the  iujpulse  of  such 
principles,  may  attain,  and  the  great  good  he  may  possibly 
accomplish. 

We  may  certainly  perceive  of  how  great  importance  it  is  to 
investigate  the  word  of  God  for  ourselves,  and  to  come  to  our 
ow^n  conclusions,  and  to  follow  up  our  own  convictions  of 
36 


410  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

duty,  with  but  a  measured  deference  to  the  sentiments  and 
practices  of  the  world  around  us,  even  of  the  Christian  part  of 
it.  A  plain  and  discreet  man,  under  the  legitimate  influence 
of  right  views  of  divine  truth,  and  correct  impressions  of  duty, 
will  often  form  designs  beyond  the  range  of  other  men's 
thoughts,  and  cheerfully  pledge  himself  to  a  line  of  conduct 
from  which  they  will  shrink  with  dismay.  If  he  discern  his 
object  clearly,  as  within  the  compass  of  divine  prescription 
and  promise,  and  if  his  conviction  of  its  importance  be  such 
as  that  he  can  consecrate  to  its  achievement  all  his  capabilities 
of  doing  and  of  suffering,  the  opinions  of  his  fellow-men  nei- 
ther will  nor  ought  to  excite  in  him  much  solicitude.  He 
cannot  expect,  indeed,  of  a  sudden  to  infuse  his  light  into 
other  minds,  so  as  to  carry  their  decisions  with  him ;  nor  can 
he  at  once  force  their  feelings  into  sympathy  with  his  own. 
He  must  be  content,  for  a  while,  to  follow  his  convictions, 
without  the  strength  and  without  the  solace  he  might  wish  to 
derive  from  the  concurrent  judgment  of  others.  He  must  rest, 
and  may  well  do  so,  in  the  award  of  his  own  conscience.  I 
he  be  patient  in  the  prosecution  of  his  plans,  and  judicious  in 
the  methods  he  adopts,  he  will,  in  due  time,  conciliate  to  him- 
self the  wise  and  the  good,  and  secure  their  patronage  to  his 
cause ;  and  even  the  timid  and  the  calculating  may  at  length 
commend  his  wisdom  as  well  as  his  zeal.  But,  should  such 
encouragement  continue  to  be  denied  him,  this  will  not  arrest 
his  virtuous  progress.  He  will  hold  on  his  way,  looking  only 
to  God  for  approval  and  for  succor.  'It  is  a  light  thing  for 
me  to  be  judged  of  man's  judgment.'  'When  it  pleased  God, 
who  separated  me  from  my  mother's  womb,  and  called  me  by 
his  grace,  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that  I  might  preach  him 
among  the  heathen,  immediately  I  conferred  not  with  flesh 
and  blood,  neither  went  I  up  to  Jerusalem  to  those  who  were 
apostles  before  me:  but  I  went  into  Arabia,  and  returned 
again  unto  Damascus.'  It  is,  doubtless,  gratifying  to  think  and 
to  act  consentiently  with  the  feelings  and  the  received  maxims 
of  others,  especially  of  those  whom  we  highly  respect,  and  to 
whom  we  are  accustomed  willingly  to  defer.  But  no  Chris- 
tian should  conceal  a  sentiment  because  it  may  yet  be  novel 
to  other  men ;  nor  cease  to  urge  home  its  consequences  be- 
cause others  may  be  reluctant  to  follow  them.    The  man  who 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    CAREY.  411 

fears  to  announce  his  judgment  upon  practical  subjects,  and 
hesitates  to  make  the  needful  sacrifice  in  demonstrating  their 
importance,  until  the  opinions  of  others  are  coincident  with 
his  own,  may  be  induced  to  wait  too  long  for  it  to  prove  prac- 
tically availing,  or  he  may  never  realize  it  at  all.  The  nobler 
virtues,  such  as  perfect  a  man's  own  soul,  and  exert  any  deci- 
sive influence  upon  the  minds  of  other  men,  and  the  blessed 
results  of  which  will  stretch  into  eternity,  require  a  daring 
and  spirited  devotion,  and  are  often  matured  by  a  stern  and 
somewhat  rugged  discipline.  But,  as  every  man  must  stand 
alone  in  the  final  judgment,  so  in  the  principal  designs  of  life, 
and  in  every  great  plan  of  action,  he  should  anticipate,  as  much 
as  is  possible,  the  solemnities  of  that  last  event,  by  realizing 
his  exclusive  accountability  to  God,  and  exercising  a  naked 
dependence  upon  him.  When  the  subject  of  this  memoir 
mentioned  to  his  own  father  his  purpose  of  becoming  a  mis- 
sionary to  the  heathen,  '  William,  are  you  mad  ?'  was  the  reply 
to  him ;  and  when  he  sought  to  impress  the  importance  and 
practicability  of  missionary  efforts  upon  some  of  the  more 
enlightened  of  his  brethren,  and  of  his  own  age  and  standing, 
the  answer  was,  '  If  the  Lord  open  windows  in  heaven,  then 
may  this  thing  be.'  His  life,  indeed,  was  so  long  protracted, 
and  so  successful  were  his  labors,  that  he  won  the  good  opin- 
ion and  the  suffrages  of  all  whose  principles  and  moral  worth 
entitled  them  to  any  regard.  But,  had  he  died  at  an  early 
period  of  his  career,  and  had  circumstances  continued  unpro- 
pitious  to  his  object,  and  little  apparent  success  attended  his 
efforts,  he  might  then  have  been  lightly  esteemed ;  and  yet 
without  one  fraction  less  of  real  excellence  attaching  to  liim, 
and  without  the  slightest  diminution,  it  may  be,  of  his  final 
rcAvard.  '  Let  every  man,  therefore,  prove  his  own  work,  and 
then  shall  he  have  rejoicing  in  himself  alone,  and  not  in  an- 
other.' 

In  Dr.  Carey's  mind,  and  in  the  habits  of  his  life,  there  is 
nothing  of  the  marvellous  to  describe.  There  was  no  great 
and  original  transcendency  of  intellect;  no  enthusiasm  and 
impetuosity  of  feeling :  there  was  nothing  in  his  mental  char- 
acter to  dazzle,  or  even  to  surprise.  Whatever  of  usefulness 
and  of  consequent  reputation  he  attained  to,  it  was  the  result 
of  an  unreserved  and  patient  devotion  of  a  plain  iutelHgence, 


412  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

and  a  single  heart  to  some  great,  yet  well  defined,  and  withal 
practicable  objects; — objects,  to  achieve  which,  indeed,  de- 
manded great  labor ;  but  were  of  such  intrinsic  and  immeas- 
urable worth,  that,  being  once  seriously  resolved  upon,  appear- 
ed of  augmented  importance  the  more  intimately  they  were 
contemplated,  and  the  more  resolutely  they  were  grappled 
with ;  and  which  threw  out  attractions  the  more  irresistible 
and  absorbing,  in  proportion  to  the  vigor  and  the  intensity  with 
which  they  were  pursued.  No  one  who  knew  him,  will  con- 
tend that  his  talents  were  of  the  brilliant  and  attractive  cast. 
He  had  no  genius,  no  imagination.  He  had  nothing  of  the 
sentimental,  the  tasteful,  the  speculative,  or  the  curious,  in  his 
constitution.  He  had  no  endowments  and  inclinations  such 
as  vividly  and  pleasurably  excite  the  soul  to  put  forth  its  ener- 
gies in  what  may  gratify  the  less  thinking,  and  secure  the  ad- 
miration of  the  less  devout,  while  it  leaves  the  things  which 
are  truly  great  and  useful  unattempted.  He  had  no  help, 
therefore,  from  that  warmth  of  feeling,  that  sensible  glow  of 
the  spirits,  partly  animal  and  partly  mental,  that  fervor  and  fire,  to 
which  painters  and  poets  are  so  deeply  indebted,  and  without 
which  a  thousand  theorists  and  zealots  in  philosophy,  and 
morals,  and  religion,  would  scarcely  have  been  known  to  have 
had  an  intellectual  existence,  beyond  what  was  needful  to 
keep  them  out  of  'fire  and  water.'  To  this  want  of  excitation 
from  the  passions  may  be  justly  referred  those  very  frequent 
and  bitter  upbraidings  of  himself,  for  his  conceived  inactivity, 
and  his  want  of  zeal  and  fervor.  He  has  often  been  heard  to 
say,  'I  think  no  man  living  ever  felt  inertia  to  so  great  a  degree 
as  I  do.'  He  was  every  way  a  man  of  principle,  not  of  im- 
pulse. 

I  need  scarcely  observe,  as  the  intelligent  reader  will  have 
anticipated  the  remark,  that  the  leading  characteristics  of  Dr. 
Carey  were  his  decision,  his  patient,  persevering  constancy, 
and  his  simplicity.  A  more  decisive  character,  as  to  the  main 
objects  to  which  his  life  was  consecrated,  the  page  of  history 
has  seldom  recorded.  There  was  in  the  constitution  of  Dr. 
Carey's  mind  nothing  dubitating,  no  painful  vacillation:  not  a 
fraction  of  his  strength,  therefore,  ever  seemed  to  be  applied 
to  objects  not  distinctly  relevant  to  some  selected,  specific,  and 
sovereign  purpose.    He  could  clearly  discern  and  firmly  grasp. 


MEMOIR    OF  DR.    CARET.  413 

and  well  define  to  others,  whatever  fixed  his  attention  and 
invited  his  pursuit ;  and  could  then  follow  it  up  with  inexhaust- 
ible patience  and  untiring  diligence.  The  force  of  his  char- 
acter in  these  respects  was  seen  in  the  earliest  developments 
of  his  mental  powers.  It  was  the  case  when  at  school,  under 
the  tuition  of  his  father,  that  he  never  failed  to  master  what- 
ever came  before  him,  and  would  have  time  always  to  spare  to 
help  the  younger  and  unsuccessful  boys.  My  grandfather,  who 
was  singularly  averse  to  the  practice  of  eulogizing  the  mem- 
bers of  his  own  family,  never  hesitated  to  bear  testimony  to 
the  assiduity,  good  conduct,  and  proficiency  of  his  son  William. 
In  his  voluntary  juvenile  engagements,  he  was  always  in 
earnest,  was  persevering,  and  adventurous.  His  strong  desire 
to  collect  subjects  in  every  branch  of  natural  history,  he  con- 
ceived from  his  very  childhood  ;  and  in  gratifying  it,  he  would 
spare  no  pains,  nor  shun  any  danger,  however  imminent.  lie 
has  told  me,  that  if  there  was  a  tree,  the  height  and  difliculty 
of  climbing  which  daunted  the  courage  of  all  besides,  he 
would  be  sure  to  feel  provoked  to  the  attempt.  Endeavoring 
to  effect  his  purpose  upon  one  such  occasion,  he  failed  and 
came  to  the  ground :  but,  notwithstanding  the  peril,  and  the 
bruises  he  incurred,  the  first  thing  he  did,  when  he  was  able 
to  leave  his  home,  was  to  climb  that  same  tree,  and  take  that 
identical  nest. 

The  most  obscure  and  least  promising  portion  of  his  life, 
was  his  apprenticeship,  and  residence  at  Hackleton ;  but  even 
then  and  there,  some  degree  of  interest  attached  to  him,  and 
a  measure  of  expectation  was  awakened  in  the  minds  of  those 
whose  observation  he  attracted,  beyond  what  his  situation  and 
very  scanty  advantages  would  seem  to  favor.  The  reader  has 
already  seen  what  impressions  the  judicious  Mr.  Scott  enter- 
tained of  him  at  this  time;  impressions  of  liis  good  sense, 
clear  judgment,  and  the  modesty  of  his  demeanor.  In  my 
youth,  I  often  preached  at  this  same  village  ;  at  which  time 
some  of  his  contemporaries  were  living,  and  who  felt  no  ordi- 
nary pleasure  in  reciting  the  incidents  which  related  to  him, 
the  indications  of  unusual  talents  which  they  thought  they 
observed,  and  the  leading  tendencies  of  his  mind ;  and  would 
dwell  upon  the  different  occurrences  which  marked  his  ad- 
vancing history  with  no  common  satisfaction.  I  am  unable  to 
36* 


414  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

recollect  any  of  these  circumstances,  explicitly  enough  to 
justify  my  repeating  them.  It  is  well  known,  also,  that  in 
retailing  actions  and  events  respecting  persons  who  have  been 
raised  from  obscurity  and  depression,  to  reputable  life  and 
eminent  usefulness,  there  is  an  evident  desire  to  invest  cir- 
cumstances the  most  trivial  with  somewhat  of  the  marvellous, 
and  to  rehearse  sayings  as  almost  proplietic,  which  in  them- 
selves were  perhaps  of  no  great  significance,  or  of  any  serious 
import ;  and  which,  but  for  the  subsequent  reputation  of  the 
individual,  would  have  been  allowed  to  pass  by,  never  to  be 
recalled.  On  this  account,  I  feel  the  less  regret  at  my  inca- 
pacity minutely  to  record  many  things  which  I  then  heard. 
And  when  the  task  was  devolved  upon  me  of  composing  this 
memorial  of  my  honored  relative,  it  was  a  fixed  determination 
with  me  to  relate  nothing,  of  the  almost  literal  accuracy  of 
which  I  had  not  clear  and  indubitable  evidence. 

His  proper  religious  life  no  sooner  commenced,  than  his 
true  character  began  clearly  to  display  itself  He  threw  into 
it  his  whole  soul.  He  investigated  truth  with  the  utmost 
ardor;  and  when  he  found  it,  'he  rejoiced  as  one  who  had 
obtained  great  spoil.'  He  sought  to  ascertain  the  will  of  God, 
with  a  simple  and  intrepid  purpose  to  obey,  no  matter  to  what 
it  conducted  him.  He  always  held  it,  that  eveiy  discovery  of 
divine  truth  was  to  be  held  precious,  and  hailed  as  the  light  of 
day ;  and  that  every  conviction  of  duty  should  be  implicitly 
and  at  once  complied  with,  saying,  that  '  the  judgment  would 
speedily  warp,  if  its  decisions  were  unwelcome ;  and  the  con- 
science soon  cease  to  importune,  if  its  calls  were  slighted.' 
Commencing  thus,  a  diligent  and  ingenuous  inquiry  after  truth, 
and  holding  himself  to  an  uncompromising  submission  to  its 
dictates,  his  mind  was  never  thwarted  in  its  purposes,  nor 
weakened  and  corroded  by  its  own  criminal  indecision,  and 
his  intellectual  and  moral  powers  thrown  into  confusion  and 
conflict.  Every  impression  being  justly  entertained,  it  was 
corrected  or  corroborated  and  confirmed  by  each  succeeding 
one ;  the  soul  gathered  fresh  vigor  to  itself  with  every  step  of 
its  advancement,  and  was  enabled  undeviatingly  to  maintain 
an  ascending  progress. 

In  pursuing  his  religious  inquiries,  one  attribute  of  the  gos- 
pel, its  infinite  benevolence,  and  one  paramount  duty,  that  of 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  415 

universally  diffusing  its  blessings,  indelibly  impressed  him. 
That,  as  God's  own  command  ascertained  this  duty,  so  his 
own  promise  clearly  guaranteed  the  success  of  those  who 
obeyed  it.  When  that  success  should  be  granted,  and  in  what 
degree  5  and  what  difficulties,  afflictions,  and  perils  he  might 
be  called  to  encounter  in  its  achievement,  he  could  leave  with 
God.  To  engage  unreservedly  in  the  work,  was  the  only 
thing  he  deemed  essential.  He  seemed  to  think  a  dispensa- 
tion was  committed  to  him;  and, in  fulfilling  it,  he  counted  not 
his  life  dear  unto  him.  The  trials  he  endured  upon  his  first 
arrival  in  India,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Calcutta,  at  Bandell, 
Dehartta ;  the  peculiar  severity  of  his  domestic  affliction  at 
these  places,  with  the  increased  distress  it  occasioned  him, 
during  his  several  years'  residence  at  Mudnabatty ;  and,  above 
all,  the  continued  disappointment  of  his  hopes  as  to  the  con- 
version of  the  heathen,  will  doubtless  recur  to  the  mind  of  the 
reader.  When,  throughout  these  poignant  afflictions,  and 
these  complicated  vicissitudes,  does  he  seem  to  swerve  from 
his  purpose,  or  falter  in  his  course  ? 

When,  in  process  of  time,  other  brethren  join  him  in  the 
work,  and  the  requisite  facilities  are  at  his  command,  he 
chooses  from  the  general  objects  of  missionary  life,  one, 
the  most  appropriate  to  his  talents,  and  congenial  with  his 
taste,  we  witness  a  still  greater  concentration  of  his  energies, 
and  are  furnished  with  a  still  further  help  to  the  just  appreci- 
ation of  his  character.  The  supplying  the  Holy  Scriptures  to 
the  millions  of  the  East,  was  the  master  purpose  of  his  life. 
With  this,  nothing  in  his  esteem  was  of  importance  sufficient 
to  justify  even  a  comparison.  After  he  had  fairly  entered  upon 
his  labor,  the  writing  of  an  unnecessary  letter,  or  the  diversion 
from  it  of  his  attention  for  an  hour,  he  deemed  a  sacrilege. 
To  read  a  'proof  on  the  Lord's  day,  he  considered  as  holy  an 
act,  as  to  study  and  preach  a  sermon,  or  to  engage  in  any  of 
the  solemnities  of  worship,  and,  in  its  consequences,  of  far 
higher  importance.  In  pursuing  this  work,  he  was  scarcely 
sensible  of  any  obstacles  he  had  to  surmount.  Grammars, 
dictionaries,  &c.,  he  generally  had  none.  He  learned  different 
languages  in  the  use  of  them ;  and  then  furnished  such  ele- 
mentary works  as  the  digests  of  his  own  acquirements,  for  the 
help  of  his  successors. 


416  MEMOIR   OF   DR.  CARET. 

It  need  hardly  be  remarked,  that  he  was  perseveringly 
steady,  and  imperturbably  regular,  in  all  his  engagements. 
This,  indeed,  was  the  main  secret  of  his  sm-prising  success. 
No  novelty  in  speculation  or  in  practice  ever  seduced  him 
from  the  plain  line  of  his  duty  or  his  labor.  He  had  a  calm 
and  dignified  satisfaction  in  the  paramount  interest  of  his  work, 
which,  arduous  as  it  was,  converted  it  into  his  rest  and  his 
solace.  Hence,  his  mind  could  submit  to  the  same  unvaried 
routine  every  day,  for  thirty  years  in  succession,  without  re- 
laxation and  without  tedium.  He  was  subject  to  many  and 
various  interruptions;  had  many  unexpected,  irregular,  and 
often  unprofitable  calls,  from  the  learned,  the  scientific,  the 
curious,  and  the  idle :  yet  he  would  suspend  his  engagement, 
whatever  it  might  be,  and  attend  to  them ;  not,  either,  with 
impatient  aspect,  and  with  hurried  gait,  as  though  their  ap- 
proach was  unwelcome,  and  their  departure  longed  for ;  but 
with  simple  ease,  and  honest  courtesy.  So  long  as  anything 
remained  to  be  shown  them,  or  any  question  for  them  to  pro- 
pose, he  was  as  much  the  gentleman  of  perfect  leisure,  and 
remained  as  entirely  at  their  command,  as  though  to  form  his 
museum  and  display  its  subjects,  and  to  plant  his  garden  and 
describe  its  productions,  were  the  principal  and  even  the  sole 
employments  of  his  life.  But,  upon  the  moment  of  their  de- 
parture, he  resumed  his  chair ;  and  that  same  moment,  too, 
ended  the  interruption.  There  was  no  alienation  of  mind  to 
be  corrected ;  for  he  and  the  proper  object  of  his  attention 
had  never  been  separated ;  nor  were  any  recapitulations  or 
mental  effort  to  recover  either  words  or  thoughts  necessary, — 
except,  perhaps,  through  the  dozing  of  his  pundit,  who  had 
remained  firm  to  his  seat,  a  statue-like  fixture,  during  the  ab- 
sence of  his  employer ;  but  he  himself  had  forgotten  nothing, 
and  was  therefore  ready  at  once  to  resume  his  work  at  the 
point  at  which  his  attention  had  been  suspended.  His  col- 
legiate engagements,  his  distant  and  extensive  correspondence, 
the  claims  preferred  by  scientific,  literary,  and  other  useful 
institutions,  in  the  origination  and  conducting  of  Avhich  he 
bore  so  conspicuous  a  part,  were  enough  to  absorb  the 
strength  and  capabilities  of  an  ordinary  man ;  but  to  him  they 
formed  a  relief  and  refreshment,  rather  than  his  task. 

It  will  be  readily  concluded,  he  was  a  very  strict  economist 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  4J7 

of  time.  By  regularly  apportioning  it  to  specific  objects,  and 
rigidly  adhering  to  the  division,  he  could  keep  a  number  of 
works  consentaneously  advancing,  without  seeming  to  retard 
the  progress  of  any,  transferring  his  attention  from  one  to 
another,  without  distraction  or  inconvenience.  By  devoting 
to  them,  without  ijitermission,  mere  fractions  of  time,  he 
brought  several  massive  works  to  a  successful  issue.  Hence, 
his  Sanscrit  grammar  of  a  thousand  pages.  Hence,  too,  his 
Bengali  dictionary  of  three  quarto  volumes,  conceived  and 
executed  upon  a  painfully  elaborate  plan.  And  hence,  also, 
his  translation  of  the  celebrated  Sanscrit  poem,  the  Ramayana ; 
which  last  work,  to  the  extent  of  several  volumes,  he  effected 
by  dictating  to  an  amanuensis  about  two  hours  only  once  in 
seven  days.  By  this  means  it  was,  that  his  Scriptural  trans- 
lations advanced  in  slow,  but  regular  degrees,  until,  in  the 
com*se  of  years,  the  work  arrived  to  so  prodigious  an  aggre- 
gate, as  to  require  no  ordinary  effort  to  believe  it  possible  that 
any  one  man,  let  his  advantages  be  what  they  might,  should 
accomplish  so  vast  an  achievement.  But  invincible  patience  in 
labor,  and  uninterrupted  constancy,  secured  his  triumph  over 
every  obstruction.  He  once  said  to  me :  '  Eustace,  if,  after  my 
removal,  any  one  should  think  it  worth  his  while  to  write  my 
life,  I  will  give  you  a  criterion  by  which  you  may  judge  of  its 
correctness.  If  he  give  me  credit  for  being  a  plodder,  he  will 
describe  me  justly.  Any  thing  beyond  this  will  be  too  much. 
I  can  plod.  I  can  persevere  in  any  definite  pursuit.  To  this 
I  owe  every  thing.'  But,  how  few  can  plod!  Many  can  devise 
a  splendid  scheme,  a  magnificent  enterprise ;  but  the  plodder 
is  the  man  who  will  rise  to  respect  and  eminence  ;  and,  should 
he  live  sufficiently  long  to  effect  his  designs,  will  make  the 
world  his  insolvent  debtor. 

But  the  characteristic  for  which  those  who  best  knew  most 
of  all  admired  him,  was  his  great  simplicity.  Here  lay  the 
charm  of  his  character.  This  was  its  main  element.  This 
constituted  its  moral  beauty  and  its  strength.  It  was  the 
mould  into  which  he  was  cast.  It  was  not  so  much  a  distinct 
attribute  of  character,  distinguishable  among  many  others, 
and  capable  of  separate  delineation,  as  the  modifying,  con- 
trolling principle  of  them  all,  giving  transparency  and  force  to 
all  his  sentiments,  his  affections,  his  motives,  his  conduct,  and 


418  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY. 

his  discourse;  rendering  him,  at  once,  both  venerable  and 
lovely.  It  secured  to  him  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the 
great,  and  the  unhesitating  confidence  of  the  poor  and  the 
humble ;  and  rendered  him,  whilst  respected  and  deferred  to 
by  the  learned,  the  easy  benevolent  companion  of  the  child. 
It  w^as  apparent,  alike,  in  the  solemnities  of  religious  belief 
and  practice,  and  in  the  minute  and  common  secularities  of 
life. 

In  science  he  would  hear  of  nothing  but  facts,  and  pure 
rigid  induction.  The  great  Linnaeus  was  preeminently  ad- 
mired by  him ;  and  the  Count  de  BufFon  almost  contemned. 
So  in  religious  life  and  principle,  no  matter  who  theorized, 
who  speculated  and  refined ;  he  read  the  Scriptures,  from  the 
beginning  of  his  religious  career  to  its  close,  simply  as  a  dis- 
ciple, to  learn  and  to  obey ;  being  ever  anxious,  in  their  expo- 
sition for  the  edification  of  others,  as  well  as  in  his  own 
practice,  to  maintain  the  very  letter  of  divine  truth.  Hence, 
nothing  could  induce  him  to  make  oath  in  a  court  of  ju- 
dicature, or  to  administer  to  a  will ;  and  hence,  therefore,  in 
his  third  marriage,  he  submitted  to  the  publication  of  banns. 
How  he  came  to  adopt  a  theological  diploma,  I  am  not  pre- 
pared to  say,  much  less  to  justify  ;  it  always  appearing  to  me 
as  little  reconcilable  with  his  general  views  and  conduct,  as 
it  must  be  confessed  to  be  with  the  letter  of  our  Lord's  in- 
structions. 

In  his  preaching  he  was  more  remarkable  than  any  man  I 
ever  knew,  for  his  choice  of  plain  and  elementary  subjects. 
He  found  them  the  life  of  his  own  spirit,  and  never  seemed  to 
imagine  they  could  be  exhausted  or  become  trite  in  the  esti- 
mation of  others.  The  gratuitous  justification  of  a  sinner 
before  God,  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  with  the  motives  and  the 
duties  it  originates,  formed  the  grand  basis  of  his  ministry, 
and  suggested  almost  every  topic  upon  which  he  dwelt.  His 
manner  of  treating  his  subjects  was  always  easy  and  natural. 
His  introduction  would  be  clearly  explanatory  of  the  sense  of 
the  sacred  writer,  and  of  the  precise  portion  of  Scripture  then 
under  discussion ;  and  by  a  very  few  simple  sentences,  and 
the  easiest  possible  division,  he  would  approach  his  subject, 
and  lay  open  its  principal  moral  so  clearly,  that  none,  by  any 
chance,  could  mistake  it.     There  was  no  excursiveness,  it  is 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  419 

acknowledged,  no  great  variety  and  range  in  his  illustrations 
of  his  subjects ;  nor  was  there,  as  indeed  may  be  well  sup- 
posed, from  the  character  of  his  mind,  the  least  approach  to 
the  imaginative  and  the  poetic.  There  was  no  style  about 
him  in  any  thing.  He  never  seemed  to  think  of  it.  The 
things  he  said  and  did  must  intrinsically  recommend  them- 
selves. His  diction  was  contracted,  his  voice  inharmonious, 
and  his  manner  somewhat  rustic  and  without  ease,  yet  never 
offensive.  He  commended  'the  truth  to  every  man's  con- 
science in  the  sight  of  God ;'  but  it  was  by  its  naked  exhibi- 
tion. The  superficial,  therefore,  and  the  unthinking,  would  be 
little  likely  to  receive  much  impression ;  and  all  who  heard 
him  must  have  been  sensible  of  the  almost  entire  absence  of 
those  melting  and  sweet  attractions  with  which  Christ  himself 
so  commonly  invested  the  doctrines  he  promulged  and  the 
duties  he  enjoined,  and  which  caused  his  hearers  to  wonder 
at  the  gracious  words  proceeding  out  of  his  mouth.  It  was 
this  which  called  forth  the  following  quaint  remark  from  Mr. 
Hall,  of  Arnsby,  when  criticising  upon  one  of  his  pulpit  ex- 
ercises: 'Brother  Carey,  you  have  no  likes  in  your  sermons. 
Christ  taught  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  like  to  leaven 
hid  in  meal,  like  to  a  grain  of  mustard,  &c.  You  tell  us  what 
things  are ;  but  never,  what  they  are  like.' 

Yet,  I  never  remember  to  have  felt  weary  under  a  single 
discourse ;  and  I  think  those  who  attended  his  ministry  will 
agree  with  me  in  the  remark,  that  his  preaching  was  never 
tedious ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  refreshing,  and  invariably  profit- 
able, in  proportion  to  the  seriousness  of  the  hearer.  There 
was  little  enough  to  excite  in  the  congregation  at  the  mission- 
house  at  Serampore,  it  being  composed  rarely  of  any  others 
than  the  members  of  the  family,  the  school  children,  and  a 
few  insolvent  and  superannuated  settlers.  Yet,  he  seemed  as 
lively  and  as  deeply  in  earnest,  as  though  he  had  had  before 
him  an  audience  of  a  thousand  people.  He  has  told  me  that 
he  never  wrote  a  sermon  in  his  life,  and  that  he  should  feel 
quite  unable  to  set  about  such  an  exercise.  And,  when  it  is 
recollected,  that  from  an  hour  to  an  hour  and  a  half  was  the 
utmost  he  ever  gave  to  the  meditation  of  a  sermon,  the  Avonder 
will  be,  that  he  could  preach  so  instructively,  and  with  so 
much  precision  and  acceptance  as  he   usually  did.     But  he 


420  MEMOIR   OF    DR.  CARET. 

had  gone  through  the  sacred  books  so  often,  and  with  so  much 
critical  attention,  and  in  so  many  languages,  that  there  was 
scarcely  a  passage,  with  the  insulated  or  connected  sense  of 
which  he  was  not  perfectly  familiar.  Then,  too,  he  was  al- 
ways reading;  so  that  his  mental  resources  never  wore  out, 
nor  ever  became  obsolete.  His  information  was  incessantly 
augmenting,  or  undergoing  correction ;  whilst  the  regular  and 
vigorous  exercise  of  his  powers  made  him  capable  of  com- 
manding, at  any  time,  whatever  he  knew,  for  the  purpose  for 
which  it  was  available.  And,  though  he  paid  little  or  no  at- 
tention to  composition,  yet  he  could  express  a  very  clear  judg- 
ment of  what  constituted  its  real  excellence.  'Never,'  he 
would  say,  'have  recourse  to  a  figure,  unless  it  render  the  idea, 
in  connexion  with  which  you  use  it,  more  clear  or  more  forci- 
ble than  it  would  be  without  it.  Let  your  figures,  also,  be 
congruous  and  agreeable.'  His  own  illustrations  were  gener- 
ally derived  from  some  great  object  in  nature  ;  as  the  sun,  the 
air,  the  light,  or  some  grand  law  in  the  economy  of  the  mate- 
rial universe :  but  he  very  seldom,  so  far  as  my  recollection 
serves  me,  descended  to  any  thing  feeble  and  common-place. 

In  general  conversation  he  never  excelled.  Of  this  he 
seemed  conscious ;  and  was  often  heard  to  utter  grievous 
complaints  against  himself  for  what  he  denominated  his  mis- 
anthropy. Though,  if  the  subject  happened  to  turn  upon 
early  friendships,  or  upon  missions,  no  one's  sympathies 
would  sooner  kindle,  and  no  one  could  exceed  him  in  spirit 
and  energy.  But  to  the  unpretending,  to  the  poor,  and  to 
children  and  youthful  persons,  he  was  always  affable,  conde- 
scending, and  communicative.  But  to  the  inferior  social  ac- 
complishments, the  talking  much  to  little  purpose,  the  sitting 
patiently  and  being  at  ease,  or  seeming  to  be  bland  and  com- 
plaisant when  the  topic  or  the  spirit  of  remark  was  not  strictly 
in  accordance  with  his  principles  or  his  feelings,  to  all  this  he 
was  unequal.  And,  it  must  be  confessed,  that  some  .'/hat  more 
of  ease  and  spring,  and  a  greater  facility  in  assimilating  to  the 
feelings  of  others,  would  have  added  to  the  agreeableness  of 
his  society.  But  he  thought  promptly,  and  always  uttered 
with  frankness  the  first  impressions  of  his  mind.  To  flattery 
he  was  utterly  and  innately  averse.  Compliments  and  com- 
mendations he  used  but  seldom,  and  very  measuredly.    And 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CAREY.  '  421 

when  he  once  deviated  from  his  own  manner,  as  he  told  me 
rather  facetiously,  he  met  with  so  little  encouragement,  that 
he  felt  no  great  inclination  to  renew  the  attempt.  A  nephew 
of  the  celebrated  Jonathan  Edwards,  calling  upon  him  in 
Calcutta,  and  who,  being  congratulated  by  him  upon  his  re- 
lationship to  so  great  a  man,  stopped  him  short,  saying  to  him 
very  drily,  '  True,  sir,  but  every  tub  must  stand  upon  its  own 
bottom.' 

Excellent  as  was  the  simplicity  of  Dr.  Carey  in  point  of 
morals,  and  the  essential  worth  of  his  character,  I  am  not 
without  my  conviction,  that,  in  the  social  and  economical  de- 
tails of  life,  it  was  excessive,  and  not  without  detriment  to  his 
own  comfort,  and  the  interests  of  that  department  of  the  mis- 
sion with  which  he  was  connected.  It  left  his  mind  too  little 
his  own  property;  rendering  it  too  naked  and  defenceless, and 
too  accessible  to  any  influence  which  persons  of  different 
mental  habits  might  feel  disposed  to  put  forth  in  controlling 
his  practical  decisions.  Mr.  Swan,  pastor  of  the  Baptist 
church.  Cannon  street,  Birmingham,  in  a  missionary  address, 
in  which  he  adverted  to  Dr.  Carey's  decease,  has  the  following 
discreet  and  appropriate  remarks:  'Dr.  Carey  was  meek,  hum- 
ble, benevolent,  kind,  unassuming,  undesigning;  without  what 
some  call  tact.  You  never  felt  as  though  he  had  some  object 
in  view,  in  rendering  you  subservient  to  him  or  his  interests. 
If  he  had  any  defect  in  his  character,  I  think  it  was,  that  he 
was  too  easy.  He  once  said  to  me :  '  Brother  Swan,  I  am  not 
fitted  for  discipline.  I  never  could  say — no.  I  began  to  preach 
at  Moulton,  because  1  could  not  say — no.  I  went  to  Leicester, 
because  I  could  not  say — no.  I  became  a  missionary,  because 
I  could  not  say— no.'  '  This  defect,'  continues  Mr.  Swan,  '  is 
often  intimately  associated  with  great  virtue.  His  failings  leant 
to  virtue's  side.  Let  us  rejoice,  that  he  could  not  say  no,  in 
reference  to  missionary  work.' 

But,  in  his  religious  feelings  and  experience,  his  simplicity 
was  most  to  be  admired,  and  was  worthy  of  unqualified  imi- 
tation. The  plain,  substantial,  unvarnished  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  were  the  basis  of  his  hope,  the  stay  and  consolation  of 
his  spirit.  'I  see  no  one  thing  in  all  my  past  life,'  he  observes 
to  his  friend  Dr.  Ryland,  after  recovering  from  a  serious  ill- 
ness, '  upon  which  I  can  rest ;  and  am  persuaded  of  the  daily 
37 


422  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  CARET. 

and  hourly  necessity  of  trusting  my  perishing  soul  in  the 
hands  of  my  Redeemer.'  #***## 
'  Should  you  outlive  me,  and  have  any  influence  to  prevent  it, 
I  most  earnestly  request,  that  no  epithets  of  praise  may  ever 
accompany  my  name  ;  such  as,  '  the  faithful  servant  of  God,' 
&c.  All  such  expressions  would  convey  a  falsehood.  May  I 
but  be  accepted  at  last,  I  am  sure,  all  the  glory  must  be  given 
to  divine  grace  from  first  to  last.  To  me  belongeth  shame 
and  confusion  of  face.'  It  was  in  this  spirit  he  at  length 
finished  his  course,  'looking  for  the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  unto  eternal  life.' 


DATE  DUE 


Jim 


^^^-^ 


!«=«^ 


HIGHSMITH  #45230 


■ 


77012  010398891 


